In a major setback on the domestic front, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s ruling party lost the key Mayoral election in the capital Male to the Pro-India opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
Adam Azim, the MDP candidate has been elected as the new mayor of Male. Notably, he will succeed Muizzu who had held the post before making a foray for the Presidential post. Last year, Muizzu resigned from the Mayor’s post to contest the presidential elections.
The Maldivian media reported Azim’s win as a “landslide” and “victory by a large margin” as he defeated Aishath Azima Shakoor of Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC).
Breaking: Adam Azim @adamazim triumphs as Mayor of Malé, defeating Azima Shakoor from the ruling PNC, filling the vacancy left by President Muizzu, the former Mayor who ascended to the Maldives Presidency.
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) January 13, 2024
According to Maldivian news website Adhadhu, Azim received 45 percent of the votes while ruling party candidate Azima Shukoor received 29 percent of the vote. After counting 41 boxes, Azim had taken a huge lead with 5,303 votes while his rival Shakoor got 3,301 votes, Maldives’ Sun Online news portal reported.
Conceding defeat, the Maldivian President congratulated the newly elected Mayor. Incidentally, Muizzu had earlier issued an appeal to the public to “not take a risk” by electing a mayor who is not aligned with the government, as that would impede the implementation of the government’s plan, as reported by Maldivian newspaper The Edition.
The party, however, lost the key election in less than 2 months of forming the government at the national level and this comes as a major setback to the ruling party.
Kudos @adamazim and to @MDPSecretariat on winning the Male’ Mayoral by-election!
— Abdulla Shahid (@abdulla_shahid) January 13, 2024
The capital city has said a categorical NO to President Muizzu and his policies – within just 58 days in office!#AdamAzim4Mayor #Vote4AdamAzim #VaaneKuraane #FehiThanavasMale pic.twitter.com/YRfr80soPl
Nonetheless, the MDP is headed by pro-India former president Mohammad Solih. He was defeated in the presidential elections by Muizzu, a pro-China leader
Following Azim’s victory, the former foreign minister of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid, launched a scathing attack on the Muizzu government. He asserted that by defeating Muizzu’s party in the Male Mayor election, the public had given a categorical NO to his government and policies.
Taking to X, Abdulla Shahid wrote, “Kudos @adamazim and to @MDPSecretariat on winning the Male’ Mayoral by-election! The capital city has said a categorical NO to President Muizzu and his policies – within just 58 days in office!”
Befitting response of S Jaishankar to Maldivian President’s antics
Earlier on Saturday (13th January), President Muizzu returned to the archipelago following his five-day visit to China. On his return, he said that even though the Maldives is a small country in size, other countries should not influence the country’s internal affairs.
Muizzu said, “We are not a country that is in the backyard of another country. We are an independent nation.” Although he didn’t mention the name of any country his remarks sparked a debate as it came at a time when the archipelago is engaged in a diplomatic row with India.
On the same day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar responded to the ongoing diplomatic row with Maldives. He asserted that “politics is politics” and it can’t be guaranteed that every country will support or agree with India every time.
He said, “Politics is politics. I cannot guarantee that in every country, every day, everybody will support us or agree with us.”
“But, seriously, as a solution, what we have been trying to do in the last 10 years, with a lot of success, is to build a very strong connection, so that, though the politics may go up and down, the people of the country, the society, generally have good feelings towards India and understand the importance of having good relations with India,” the EAM added.
Diplomatic row with India
Notably, it all started on 4th January after PM Narendra Modi shared some pictures of his visit to Lakshadweep. He exhorted people to explore the scenic islands in what could be seen as a push to his ‘vocal for local’ slogan, and an effort to give a boost to tourism on the archipelago.
Following his visit to Lakshadweep, a large demand erupted among Indians to explore the Indian Islands and boost our tourism sector before visiting beaches or tourism sites in other countries. However, jittery Maldivian politicians interjected and reacted by making racial commentary on Indians.
It is important to note that neither the Indian PM mentioned any country nor it was targeted toward any nation, yet some Maldivians feared a potential hit to their tourism economy.
Mariyam Shiuna, Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Information, and Arts, recently made insulting remarks against PM Modi, referring to him as a ‘clown’ and a ‘puppet of Israel’ after he posted pictures from his visit to Lakshadweep Islands. She later deleted the tweet and was among one of the three Ministers who were suspended by the Maldivian government for making disparaging remarks on India.
On Friday (5th January), Zahid Rameez, a Council member of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) also took to the microblogging site X to mock Indians.
In response to Maldivian users’ and politicians’ uncalled-for and racial commentary, trends like #BoycottMaldives, and cancellation of trips to Maldives are picking steam in India.
From prominent Cricketers to Actors, all have in unison slammed Maldives for their hateful remarks against Indians and promoted tourism in Lakshadweep and other Indian Islands snubbing Maldives. Since then, the Maldivian President has been in the dock on the domestic front by his opposition who have initiated a slew of measures against his government and facing criticism from the tour operating body and the public at large.
