Maldives presidential runoff gives pro-China opposition surprise lead with more than 46% votes

Maldivians will return to polls on Sept 30 to vote in a runoff election between top two candidates in country's presidential race after neir secured more than 50% in first round, elections commission said Sunday. Main opposition candidate Mohamed Muiz managed a surprise le with more than 46% of votes, while incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who was seen as favourite, got only 39%.

election on Saturday has shaped up as a virtual referendum over which regional power — India or China — will have biggest influence in Indian Ocean archipelago state. Solih is perceived as pro-India while Muiz is seen as pro-China. result is seen a remarkable achievement for Muiz, who was a late selection as a candidate by his party after its leer, former President Abdullah Yameen, was blocked from running by Supreme Court. He is serving a prison term for corruption and money laundering.

“People did not see this government to be working for m, you have a government that was talking about India first,'" said Mohamed Shareef, a top official from Muiz's party.

Azim Zahir, a political science and international relations lecturer at University of Western Australia, said first-round election outcome was “a major blow” to Solih and "one could re it even as a rejection of his government,” Muiz h only three weeks to campaign and did not have vantage of a sitting president, Zahir said. He said Muiz's strong stand against presence of Indian troops in Maldives could have been a significant factor in election.

He said result also showed a nation divided according to rival parties' ideologies between pro-Western, pro-human rights Maldivian Democratic Party and Muiz's People's National Congress, which has a more religiously conservative leaning and views Western values with suspicion. Solih has been battling allegations by Muiz that he h allowed India an unchecked presence in country.

Muiz promised that if he wins, he will remove Indian troops stationed in Maldives and balance country's tre relations, which he said are heavily in India's favour. He however has promised to continue friendly and balanced relations with Maldives' closest neighbour.

Muiz's PNC party is viewed as heavily pro-China. When its leer Abdullah Yameen was president from 2013-2018, he me Maldives a part of China's Belt and Ro initiative. It envisages building ports, railways and ros to expand tre — and China's influence — across Asia, Africa and Europe.

Shareef said that removal of Indian military personnel was a “non-negotiable” position for party. He said number of Indian troops and ir activities are hidden from Maldivians and that y have near-exclusive use of certain ports and airports in country.

Both India and China are vying for influence in small state me up of some 1,200 coral islands in Indian Ocean. It lies on main shipping route between East and West. Muiz seems to have taken vantage of a split in Solih's MDP that led Mohamed Nasheed, a charismatic former president, to break away and field his own candidate. Nasheed's candidate, Ilyas Labeeb, secured 7% of vote. More than 282,000 people were eligible to vote in election and turnout was nearly 80%. (AP) SCY SCY