Presidential Election in Maldives

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• Electoral System in Maldives
• System of Executive Presidency in Maldives
• Maldives’ Presidents and India
• News Summary: Presidential Election in Maldives
• Key highlights
• Possible change in foreign policy of Maldives

Why in news?

• Front runner and Opposition candidate Mohamed Muizzu was elected President of the Maldives.
• He defeated the India-friendly incumbent, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, in a closely fought contest.

Electoral System in Maldives

• Name of the Parliament
  • Maldives Parliament is called Majlis/People’s Majlis.
  • The structure of Parliament is Unicameral.
• First-past-the-post majority system
  • In the Maldives, Parliament and Council elections run under the first-past-the-post majority system. Voters vote for only one candidate.
• Tenure
  • The Assembly (Majlis) has 87 members. All members are elected directly for a term of five years from 87 single-member constituencies.
• Two-round system
  • The President of the Maldives is elected using the two-round system.
  • If no candidate wins more than 50% of the votes, then a second round, or run-off, is held.
• 2023 Election in Maldives
  • The first round was a crowded battlefield, with eight candidates — the highest so far.
  • For perspective, Maldives has a population of about 5.2 lakh people.
  • According to the Election Commission of Maldives, 2.8 lakh are eligible voters, of which about 1.6 lakh are members of various political parties.

System of Executive Presidency in Maldives

• Single-party system till 2008
  • Maldives has followed a system of Executive Presidency since 1968.
  • It followed a single-party system till 2008, and the President was elected for five years through a referendum.
• Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ruled for 30 years
  • The first executive President of the Maldives, Ibrahim Naseer, was in power from 1968 to 1978.
    • With political protests erupting in 1978, Naseer did not contest for the third term.
  • In 1978, the Maldives’ parliament chose Maumoon Abdul Gayoom as the next President.
  • Gayoom ruled the country for 30 years, till 2008, quelling protests and famously defeating a coup attempt with India’s help in 1988.
• Era of multi-party system
  • Amid protests by different groups, Gayoom undertook political reforms in 2004.
  • Political parties were registered in 2005 and a new Constitution adopted in 2008.
  • That charted the path towards Presidential elections every five years with a multi-party system.

Maldives’ Presidents and India

• India’s experience with Maldives politics has been a mixed bag, with Solih’s government being the most favourable so far.
• India worked with Abdul Gayoom closely for three decades.
• When Mohamed Nasheed came to power in 2008, then Vice President Hamid Ansari attended his oath-taking ceremony, signalling New Delhi’s support.
• The Maldives government cancelled the GMR contract for the Maldives airport in 2012, a major setback to the ties.
• After Yameen came to power in 2013, he courted China much more aggressively. Under him, Maldives joined President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.
  • When India and Western lenders were not willing to offer loans to Yameen’s administration due to allegations of human rights violations, he turned to Beijing, which offered the money without any conditions.
• When Solih won the 2018 elections, Delhi heaved a sigh of relief. PM Modi went to Maldives to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

News Summary: Presidential Election in Maldives

• The Maldives has elected a new president, Mohamed Muizzu. He defeated the incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who had a pro-India policy.
  • President Solih had come under sharp attack from the Opposition for his stated ‘India first’ policy.

Key highlights

• In the second round of Presidential Election, Mr. Muizzu garnered about 54% of the vote, while Mr. Solih secured nearly 46%.
• The presidential election run-off saw a higher voter turnout of 86%, compared to the 79.85% recorded in the first —the lowest seen in a Maldivian presidential election.
  • The first round was inconclusive and no candidate could win more than 50% of the votes.

Possible change in foreign policy of Maldives

• Muizzu’s victory may signal a shift in the Maldives’ foreign policy.
• He is supported by former President Abdulla Yameen, who had a pro-China stance and wanted India out of the country.
  • Abdulla Yameen had launched ‘India out’ campaign.
• However, observers within the Maldives feel that Mr. Muizzu is unlikely to abruptly sever ties with India.
• The newly elected leader would seek to balance India-China ties, they note, even as New Delhi hopes for continuity in India’s many infrastructure projects across the island nation.
  • India’s recent projects in Maldives include:
    • water and sanitation in 34 islands,
    • roads and land reclamation under the Addu development project,
    • a cancer hospital, a port project, a cricket stadium, two airport development projects,
    • the Greater Male connectivity project with bridges,
    • causeways and roads, social housing projects, renovation of a mosque, building the national college for police.
  • Estimates suggest that between 2018 to 2022, Indian aid was over Rs 1,100 crore, more than double the previous five year-term (about Rs 500 crore).

Q1) What is India Out Campaign?

The "India Out" campaign is a political campaign in the Maldives that aims to create skepticism about India's investments, defense partnerships, and net-security provisions in the country. The campaign was led by two political parties led by Yameen.

Q2) What is presidential system?

A presidential system is a form of government where the head of government and head of state are the same person. The executive branch of government is separate from the legislative branch. The head of government is typically called the president.

Source: Opposition candidate Muizzu beats India-friendly Solih in Maldives presidential run-off | People’s Majlis | INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION | Indian Express