This July brought Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) to power; followed by the ouster of Bhutan’s sitting prime minister Tshering Tobgay and his ruling People’s Democratic Party in the first round of parliamentary elections on September 15. Now it seems to be Maldives’ turn.
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the United Opposition candidate, has managed to defeat Abdulla Yameen, the sitting President in Sunday’s presidential election in Maldives. Results released by the Elections Commission early on Monday morning showed Solih had secured 58.3 per cent of the popular vote, as per an AFP report.
India congratulated Solih on his victory saying the election reflected Maldives’ commitment to the values of democracy and the rule of law. "We welcome the successful completion of the third presidential election process in the Maldives which, according to preliminary information, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has won," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
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"We heartily congratulate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on his victory and hope that the Election Commission will officially confirm the result at the earliest," it said.
The quick Indian response could be aimed at any malpractice that might take place now to manipulate the election results in Yameen’s favour.
Many observers would, however, like to see the Maldivian election in the larger context of the India-China power play in the region. Yameen was seen close to China and therefore, some would add the extra bite in the Indian statement congratulating Solih and the people of Maldives for their commitment to democratic values in the country.
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"This election marks not only the triumph of democratic forces in the Maldives, but also reflects the firm commitment to the values of democracy and the rule of law," the MEA said.
If Solih’s victory is officially confirmed and he emerges as the new president of Maldives, it will also prove the skeptics wrong. Yameen, the “strong man” of this important Indian Ocean atoll, was widely believed to return to power after Sunday’s election. However, this could have happened if the poll was rigged in Yameen’s favour.
But even if the President and his supporters might have had such ideas, they had to be abandoned in the face of clear messages coming out from Delhi, the rest of the region and the European Union that they were keeping a keen eye on how election in Maldives was being conducted.
The possibility that if Maldives’ presidential election was manipulated, it could have serious ramifications for the country and its relations with other key players in the region and beyond, might have acted as a deterrent for the Yameen regime.
India, which have had traditionally strong and cordial ties with Maldives had begun to feel slighted when sections of the Maldivian leaders, particularly Yameen, started courting China as a coveted player to counter Delhi’s influence and clout over the archipelago.
The Male-Delhi strains became more visible when Yameen declared Emergency in the country after suspending all democratic activities and locking up political opponents, parliamentarians and judges in jail. These developments renewed demands from sections in the Maldivian opposition for an Indian naval intervention — something it had done in 1988 to save the then Maldivian President Gayoom from a coup.
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But India refrained from doing so and the improvement in Sino-Indian relations in subsequent months could have had created the required diplomatic space for gradually restoring normalcy in Maldives.
Once election results are announced officially and events in the subsequent weeks start taking shape, it will prove how normal Maldives has really become to continue its journey to become a truly democratic, republic.
