Mohamed Muizzu has won the presidential election in the Maldives after a second-round run-off against incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, which was seen as a test of the Indian Ocean archipelago’s nascent democracy as well as its ties with China and traditional benefactor India.
Muizzu, 45, leads a party that welcomed an influx of Chinese loans and oversaw a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent when it was last in power.
Incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih conceded defeat shortly before midnight after the Elections Commission of the Maldives said Muizzu had won 54.06 percent of the vote in the run-off contest.
“Congratulations to president-elect Muizzu,” Solih wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Thank you for the beautiful democratic example shown by the people in the elections,” he added.
Solih, 61, will remain as caretaker president until his successor’s inauguration on November 17.
Original from www.aljazeera.com