Pro-China Leader’s Party Scores Decisive Win in Maldives Parliamentary Election

Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) has secured more than two-thirds of the 93-member parliament, based on provisional results from the Elections Commission of Maldives. The PNC won 66 out of 86 declared seats, which is more than enough for a super-majority. The formal ratification of the results is anticipated to take about a week, and the new assembly is expected to take office in early May.

Only three out of 41 women candidates were elected, with the winners all from Muizzu’s PNC, as reported by the local Mihaaru newspaper. This election was regarded as a critical test for Muizzu’s plan to pursue closer economic cooperation with China, including the construction of thousands of apartments on controversially reclaimed land. In the outgoing parliament, the PNC and its allies held only eight seats, preventing Muizzu from gaining a majority following his presidential election victory in September.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which previously held a super-majority, is headed for a significant defeat with only a dozen seats. Muizzu, 45, was among the first to cast his vote, urging high voter turnout. The Maldives, a nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands, is highly vulnerable to rising sea levels due to global warming.

Muizzu, a former construction minister, has pledged to combat the effects of rising sea levels through ambitious land reclamation and building higher islands, a policy that environmentalists argue could increase flood risks. The Maldives, known for its luxury holiday destinations, has also become a geopolitical hotspot in the Indian Ocean. Muizzu, who won the last presidential election as a proxy for pro-China ex-president Abdulla Yameen, is now working on sending home a garrison of 89 Indian troops, gifted reconnaissance aircraft from New Delhi.

Since taking office, lawmakers have blocked three of his cabinet nominees and refused some of his spending proposals. President Solih, who also voted early, expressed confidence in his party’s victory. Election chief Fuad Thaufeeq reported a 73 percent turnout of the 284,663 electorate when the polls closed.