Maldives Election and India

Why in the News?

Maldives is set to face the second round of Presidential election very soon, after no candidate secured more than 50% of the votes in the first round on September 9.

Maldives Election:

1. Maldives’ electoral system is similar to France, where the winner has to secure more than 50% of votes.
2. If no one crosses the mark in the first round, in the second round, the top two candidates go head-to-head.
3. In the first round of polling, Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih secured 39% of the votes, while the Opposition alliance candidate Mohamed Muizzu got 46%.
4. Maldives has a population of about 5.2 lakh people, among which 2.8 lakh are eligible voters, of which about 1.6 lakh are members of various political parties.
5. The multi-party system was adopted after a new Constitution adopted in 2008, that mandated Presidential elections after every five years, contrary to earlier method of electing President through a referendum.
6. The opposition party candidate is Muizzu, seen as a proxy of Yameen has threatened to terminate agreements with foreign countries and expel foreign companies if they are not beneficial to Maldives and its people (hinting at India).

Engagement between the two nations:

1. India worked with Abdul Gayoom closely for three decades (1978-2008).
2. After Nasheer was elected as the President, he soon began courting China and cancelled the GMR contract for the Maldives airport in 2012.
3. In 2013, Maldives joined President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.
4. In 2018 elections, Solih won which led to strengthening of relationship.
5. India has reached out to Maldives on various occasions, say from providing vaccines to building infrastructure to helping with debt relief assistance.
   1. India’s swiftly dispatched 30,000 doses of measles vaccine in January 2020.
   2. Rapid and comprehensive assistance during the Covid pandemic has reinforced India’s credentials of being Maldives’ “first responder”.
   3. India was the first to assist Maldives during the 2004 tsunami as well as the water crisis in Malé in Dec 2014.
   4. Current Projects of India at Maldives include road and land reclamation under the Addu development project, water and sanitation in 34 islands, the Greater Male connectivity project with bridges, renovation of a mosque, building the national college for police, among others.
6. Trade relations:
   1. Trade between the two countries was about Rs 50 crore last year, of which India exported commodities worth Rs 49.5 crore and imports primarily scrap metals, and is exploring seafood products.

Why Maldives in important for India:

1. Maldives's location and its position at the hub of commercial sea-lanes running through the Indian Ocean makes it strategically important to India.
2. Maldives’ proximity to the west coast of India led to enhanced defence ties between India and Maldives, especially since the 26/11 attacks, for coastal surveillance and maritime cooperation.
3. India has trained over 1,500 Maldivian defence and security personnel in the last 10 years, meeting around 70% of their defence training requirements.

Though India is viewed as a development partner, a large section of Maldivians, particularly the youth, are getting attracted to the ‘India Out’ movement propagated by the opposition party of Maldives.