Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s victory in Maldives presidential election is a triumph of democratic forces to the great relief of the people of the Indian Ocean Island. It is an open blow to China which has invested millions of dollars in projects under President Abdulla Yameen, who had taken Maldives into a deep embrace of the Dragon to the dismay of neighbours.
Significantly, even minutes after the voting began on Sunday, Sept 23, 2018 it appeared as though President Abdulla Yameen was going to cement his iron grip. The police raided opposition candidate’s office on the eve of the voting in the election. The action raised fears that the ballot might be rigged to favour President Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s party.
However, the Maldivian voters demonstrated the power of their ballot and threw Abdulla Yameen out.
It is an extraordinary rebuke given the fact that Yameen had jailed his political rivals and judges alike and forced his main challengers into exile, while taking Maldives on an authoritarian path to the glee of Islamist fundamental forces.

New Delhi has reasons to feel relieved by the outcome in Male. China’s expanding footprint in Maldives through the Belt and Road Initiative and the signing of a Free Trade agreement last December had soured relations.

Early this year Male asked New Delhi to take back two helicopters stationed for medical evacuation and rescue work. Rules were also tightened for Indian workers in the Maldives tourism sector after Yameen declared in February Emergency in the island nation.
India was the first to welcome the Male result. And said Delhi is looking forward to deepening its partnership with Maldives under its “Neighbourhood First” policy
“This election marks not only triumph of democratic forces in the Maldives, but also reflects the firm commitment to democracy and rule of law. In keeping with our ‘Neighbourhood First’ Policy, India looks forward to working closely with Maldives in further deepening our partnership,” India said, and congratulated the President – elect, who is the consensus candidate of four opposition parties (Maldivian Democratic Party, the Jumhooree Party, the Adhaalat Party and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s own faction of the Progressive Party) whose leaders are either in detention or in exile.
“This is the first successful step on the road to justice,” Solih told reporters hours before Abdulla Yameen conceded defeat and promised orderly transfer of power. He received 58 percent of the votes cast, according to provisional results tallied by local news media, with official results expected in over a week.

From all accounts, it is Nasheed who is going to be the main moving force behind the incoming government. He is India friendly, and during the Yameen years regularly appealed to India to intervene in his troubled country.

Solih, , popularly known as Ibu, became the Maldivian Democratic Party’s presidential candidate after its other top figures were jailed or exiled by Yameen’s government. MDP leader and former President Mohamed Nasheed had hoped to run again but was disqualified because of an outstanding prison sentence in a terrorism case foisted by the Yameen regime; well, he had won the primaries in June with 43,922 of the 44,011 votes cast but the poll body ruled him out. Solih and Nasheed are close friends for the last four decades. Solish’s wife, Fazna Ahmed, is the cousin of Nasheed.
The result puts Solih, 54, on track to be sworn in as the Maldives’ fourth president since it transitioned to democracy in 2008 after decades of monarchical and authoritarian rule.
A mild-mannered stalwart of the Maldivian democratic movement, Solih was among the MPs who tried – and were denied the right – to register the country’s first independent political party in 2003. He enjoys cross-party appeal more than any other, according to Azim Zahir, a Maldivian researcher based in Western Australia. Hopefully, he will bring some stability to Maldives -political and diplomatic alike.
From all accounts, it is Nasheed who is going to be the main moving force behind the incoming government. He is India friendly, and during the Yameen years regularly appealed to India to intervene in his troubled country. He had opposed the Pro- Beijing tilt of President Yameen and accused China of ‘colonising” Maldives, a charge that has gained wide traction.
Chinese investments spread over some 17 projects that include an airport and the newly opened Friendship Bridge have pushed the country into a debt trap estimated at $1.5 billion. The Maldivian leadership is undoubtedly has a tough job ahead. How they handle the entrenched Chinese interests will be keenly watched.
Well, unlike their predecessor, the incoming leaders can bank on New Delhi, Colombo and Washington.

– by Malladi Rama Rao