In the Maldives, the president’s party has just won Parliament from the opposition. A large victory, which gives Mohamed Muizzu, elected six months ago, free rein to implement his policy in this South Asian archipelago, such as the diplomatic realignment towards China. But voters are mainly demanding housing, particularly in the capital, one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
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With our special envoy to the Maldives, Sébastien Farcis
Shifza Mohammad sits in front of the campaign headquarters, wearing a broad smile. His candidate from the PNC presidential party largely won this constituency of Malé, dethroning the outgoing opposition MP.
Shifza now wants one thing: more housing: “ Thirteen people live in our three-bedroom family apartment! There is no more room, and this member must fix that. To get there in Male, land must be reclaimed from the sea. »
President Mohamed Muizzu promised to launch major land drainage works and Aifan Ahmad, a new PNC deputy elected in the capital, is ready to implement this policy: “ Politicians have been talking about decentralization to relieve congestion in Malé for years, but no one has done it. Now, all these generations are here, and we have to find space for them by recovering from the sea. »
These so-called development works, however, destroy corals and marine life, while Maldives depend on this nature, because its inhabitants live from fishing and tourism.
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