After his party won a decisive majority in Sunday’s general elections, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has both executive powers and parliamentary backing to shape the island nation’s policies for the next five years.
Provisional results showed that the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) secured 71 out of the 93 seats in parliament or People’s Majlis, as it is known in the island nation. The party was preparing to hold a huge celebration titled “Welcome — to the People’s Nation’s Majlis”, in capital Male on Monday night.
The Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) which had put up a similar, impressive show in 2019, winning 65 out of 87 seats then, faced a serious setback in this election, losing in most constituencies. The party secured only a dozen seats. Significantly, candidates affiliated to the two new formations of former Presidents Abdulla Yameen and Mohamed Nasheed who split, respectively, from Mr. Muizzu and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, failed to win a single seat.
“I am still in some kind of shock, and trying to make sense of the results,” said Ibrahim Ismail, a former MP from the MDP, an academic and a prominent voice in the country’s pro-democracy reform movement since the early 2000s. “This sort of three-fourths majority allows them to even re-write the Constitution. And it’s always a red flag when one party is able to do that in a democracy,” he told The Hindu from Male. He said the new composition also gave rise to fears over the possible undermining of the rule of law.
It is not that the MDP did not wield similar control over the last parliament, but some like Mr. Ismail see the current situation as being “very different”. “How a party [PNC] that is not known to espouse democratic values might deal with such absolute power is a major concern. The MDP for all its internal weaknesses is a party rooted in democracy and human rights. Also, it offers more space for diverse voices and dissent within,” Mr. Ismail contended.
While citing the MDP’s internal fissures, especially around the split of President Nasheed, as one of the chief reasons for the electorate’s disillusionment with the party, the former MP said Mr. Solih “went overboard” with his ‘India First’ policy, much like his predecessor Mr. Yameen, who “did the same with China”.
All the same Mr. Muizzu’s detractors worry that his political camp’s ultra-nationalist rhetoric may not bode well for balanced international relations in the long run. “It is not ideal for small countries to tilt too much towards one power or the other,” Mr. Ismail observed.
Mr. Muizzu’s foreign policy priorities are no secret. After making “India out” his poll plank in last year’s Presidential race, he gave it policy direction, eventually getting New Delhi to agree to replace its military personnel with civilians. Around the same time, he pledged to elevate strategic ties with China.
According to Ahmed Mohamed, a former diplomat who served as the Maldives’s Ambassador to India during President Yameen’s term, the results of the general election in the Maldives only point to a continuing trend observed in the past two elections. “There is a widespread belief among the public that in order to sustain progress, development, and prosperity, the government must secure an absolute majority in the Majlis,” he told The Hindu. “Given this outcome, I do not anticipate any changes to the foreign policy of the Maldives,” he added.
