As Maldives goes to polls, eight candidates vie for top office in fragmented race 

Maldives polls: Over 2.8 lakh to vote in presidential race shaped by 3 presidents; Solih seeks 2nd term; Nasheed's backers set up new party; Muizzu, Qasim, Faris Maumoon also in fray; Solih focussed on edu, health, civic infra; India-Maldives ties under scrutiny; voter turnout increasing since 2003.

Over 2,80,000 people of the Maldives will have a say in the presidential polls on Saturday [September 9, 2023], a race that has been shaped by three presidents – the incumbent, a breakaway leader, and a jailed politician.  

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is seeking a record second term amid a host of political challenges, including a diminished party, after his former colleague Mohamed Nasheed — Parliamentary Speaker and former President — quit the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) earlier this year amid growing political differences.

Following the split that sharply divided party loyalists, Mr. Nasheed’s backers set up a new party called The Democrats, whose candidate, legislator Ilyas Labeeb, is among seven rivals challenging President Solih.  Maldives Mayor Mohamed Muizzu, who is running from the People’s National Congress — jailed President Abdulla Yameen was barred from contesting — has drawn considerable support, locals note.

Two other candidates drawing attention are Jumhooree Party leader Qasim Ibrahim and Ahmed Faris Maumoon, son of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who ruled Maldives with an iron first for three decades until the Indian Ocean Archipelago’s shift to democracy in 2008. In a likely scenario where no candidate secures over 50 % of the mandate, a second round of elections will be held.

During his term, India-friendly President Solih has focussed on education, health and civic infrastructure, carrying out a host of projects in capital Male and the atolls, many of which are backed by grants and loans from New Delhi.

Malé makes no apology for ties with India: Solih

While Indian assistance in defence, infrastructure and education have grown, critics of the Solih administration question its “over-reliance” on India.  Former President Abdulla Yameen, whose regime was known for its China tilt, sought to mobilise popular support against “Indian intervention”, leading the ‘India Out’ campaign between his two court convictions.