In Deep Sea

Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha (retd)

In the recently concluded presidential election in the South Asian island nation of Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, the opposition candidate, emerged victorious after he secured 54 per cent votes, defeating Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Muizzu is seen as close to former president Abdulla Yameen who followed pro-China policies and is undergoing a prison sentence for money laundering of funds. Yameen was shifted from prison to house arrest due to a request made by Muizzu to Solih who is in the presidential chair till November 17.

There are several reasons for Solih’s loss in the elections. Among the major reasons was the split in the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) closer to the election date. Nasheed, the speaker of the house and former President, broke off from MDP and formed his own party named Democrats. He remains a very influential politician in the Maldives and he walked off with 32 members of parliament (MPs) in a house of 87. One of the disagreements between the two leaders was Nasheed’s demand to amend the constitution and convert Maldives from a presidential form of government to a parliamentary system.

Also, there was general discontent amongst people with Solih. He was seen as bending too much towards India. This was coupled with his non-assertive handling of the ‘India Out’ campaign. This slogan was coined by Yameen towards the end of his own presidential term since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) had inflicted severe financial coercion on the Maldives. The loans were hefty, the payment of which would have led to a compromise in the sovereignty of the Maldives. Yameen thought it necessary to move Indian projects out of Maldives to please China and some sections of his domestic audience. India had gifted two advanced light helicopters (ALH) for inter-island medical evacuation. A Dornier was also gifted for EEZ surveillance since piracy was at a peak. Solih had an India-first policy which meant that the air asset was to be operated and maintained by India with a staff strength of 76 Indian Navy, 24 Coast Guard and two Hindustan Aeronautics Limited personnel. Simultaneously, seven Maldivians were to be trained on the job.

In the current election, Yameen could not be a candidate since he was serving an 11-year sentence. His coalition partner is Muizzu—a UK educated engineer who had been in Yameen’s cabinet handling infrastructure developm