Mohamed Muizzu Wins Maldives Presidency

Pro-China candidate Mohamed Muizzu won the Maldives’ presidential election on Saturday, upending the archipelago’s relationship with traditional backer India.

Muizzu, 45, leads a party that oversaw an infusion of Chinese loans when it was in power in the island nation known for its luxury beach resorts and famous tourists.

In the run-off election, he received 54.06 percent of the vote, compelling incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to admit defeat shortly before midnight.

Muizzu made a brief appearance outside his party’s campaign headquarters, urging supporters not to celebrate until Sunday morning when campaign restrictions officially end.

Solih, 61, will remain as interim president until his replacement is sworn in on November 17.

The outcome undermines Solih’s attempts since entering office five years ago to shift the country’s diplomatic position back toward New Delhi.

Mohamed Muizzu was instrumental in a former government’s development agenda, which was funded in part by financial assistance from China’s Belt and Road infrastructure effort.

Last year, he told Chinese Communist Party officials that his party’s return to power would write a further chapter of strong ties between our two countries.

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