On Sunday the Indian Ocean nation of Maldives is set to hold its 20th parliamentary elections the results of which are likely to be announced before April 28. According to the media sources, preliminary results will be announced by tomorrow midnight and final results will be out by Monday morning.
The elections will be held in 93 seats in total. The opposition party Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), with 41 seats in hand, presently dominates the People’s Majlis, the country’s parliament.
Over 284,663 registered voters will be polling at 602 stations nationwide to elect their leaders. President Mohamed Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) has fielded the most number of candidates in these general elections. A total of 90 candidates are in the fray affiliated to PNC.
The opposition MDP is fielding 89 candidates. Over 130 independent candidates are also vying for dominance in the elections.
The Democrats have fielded nine candidates, the Adhaalath Party four candidates, the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) four candidates, the Jumhooree Party (JP) 10 candidates and the Maldives National Party (MNP) has fielded two candidates in the parliamentary elections.
The elections are seen as a test for President Mohamed Muizzu’s pro-China and anti-Bharat policy. Last November in in presidential elections he rose to power, riding high on his ‘Bharat-out’ campaign.
In the last six months, Muizzu’s government has taken steps to expel Bharatiya troops from the nation and solidify military ties with China.
If his People’s National Congress fail to secure a majority in these elections, opposition parties could give him a tough time implementing policies that are widely seen as favouring China and hurting the interest of long
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