2023-10-01 18:30:00
Maldives President-elect Mohamed Muizzu on Sunday obtained the release from prison of his mentor, former President Abdulla Yameen, the day after a presidential election which should mark the return of the Indian Ocean archipelago to the orbit of Beijing.
Outgoing President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih responded favorably to Mr. Muizzu’s request and ordered an end to his predecessor’s incarceration in a high-security prison and his continued residence under house arrest at his home in Male.
Hundreds of supporters greeted the arrival home of Mr. Yameen, in power between 2013 and 2018, waving the red flags of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), party officials said.
Mr. Muizzu, 45, was the proxy candidate for Mr. Yameen, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence for corruption and money laundering.
The new president, formally inaugurated on November 17, obtained 54.06% of the votes on Saturday against Mr. Solih, 61 years old.
“He has started working on building his team,” a source close to the president-elect said on Sunday. “He wants a peaceful and smooth transition.”
On Saturday evening, he launched a call for unity. “No matter their political affiliation, there are only Maldives citizens in front of me,” he said.
Mr. Miuzzu’s victory could lead to a rapprochement with Beijing, in a highly strategic region. A mecca for luxury tourism, this archipelago in the Indian Ocean is located on one of the busiest maritime routes in the world in an area where India and China compete for influence.
It was during Mr. Yameen’s tenure that the MMP entered Beijing’s orbit, with the Maldives president seeking to move away from the traditional alliance with India.
Mr. Solih had criticized him for pushing the country into a Chinese debt trap by borrowing massively for infrastructure. Once he came to power, he quickly acted to restore the archipelago’s relations with New Delhi, inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend his inauguration and allowing its small military presence to be strengthened.
Modi wants to “strengthen” ties
Conversely, Mohamed Muizzu’s party criticized this rapprochement with India, a country with disproportionate political and economic weight in the Maldives and the object of long-standing disaffection.
The PPM and activist groups have regularly staged protests demanding a reduction in Indian influence in the Muslim nation.
Mr. Miuzzu defended without reservation the financial largesse granted by Beijing within the framework of the “new silk roads”, a gigantic Chinese investment project in developing countries.
When he was in Mr. Yameen’s government, Mr. Muizzu was also the spearhead of a bridge project financed by China, at a cost of 200 million dollars, connecting the capital to the country’s main airport.
China did not immediately react to the victory of the PPM candidate, but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mr. Muizzu on Sunday.
New Delhi is “committed to strengthening the proven India-Maldives relationship,” he wrote on the social network X.
Last year, Mr. Miuzzu declared, during a meeting with members of the Chinese Communist Party, that the return of his party to power would make it possible to “write a new chapter of strong ties” between their two countries.
01/10/2023 18:29:37 – Malé (Maldives) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
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