In South Asia, the population of the Maldives votes this Sunday, April 21 to elect their deputies. The recently elected president, Mohammed Muizzu, does not have a majority in the outgoing chamber and is therefore seeking to consolidate his base to pursue his policies. One of the issues concerns diplomatic realignment: this president is pursuing an aggressive policy to distance himself from neighboring India and get closer to China. On the eve of the election, the opposition is fighting against this change.
2 mins
With our special envoy to the Maldives, Sébastien Farcis
A wave of yellow flags and t-shirts crosses the center of Malé. Activists from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) are campaigning in the capital to obtain a majority in Parliament and curb the president’s ambitions.
Six months ago, Mohamed Muizzu came to power with a program to reduce Indian strategic influence, and he forced New Delhi to withdraw its approximately 80 troops deployed in the Maldives, suspected of espionage. They will have to leave by May 10.
At the same time, the president is moving closer to China, where he has already made an official visit, and a Chinese military boat recently set sail in the archipelago. Mariya Didi of the MDP was the defense minister in the previous government.
“ L’India is our closest neighbor, she explains, and we always called them in case of emergency. The biggest security threat for us is a natural disaster or oil spill, as a third of the world’s oil exports pass through the Maldives. And such an accident would destroy our economy, which depends on fishing and tourism. In this case, it is India that could help us. While China is very far away. »
The president refuses to talk about alignment with China, and continues to welcome investment or food aid from India.
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