In a significant domestic development for Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) achieved a decisive triumph in the mayoral election held in the capital, Male, on January 13, according to a report by PTI. The newly elected Male Mayor is Adam Azim, who secured a landslide victory, succeeding Muizzu, who resigned from the position to contest the presidential elections last year. This political setback for President Muizzu comes amidst other challenges, including a diplomatic row with India.

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Adam Azim, the MDP candidate and now Mayor of Male, has a diverse professional background. As reported by local paper Adhadhu, Azim previously served as the CEO of the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) during the last government. His career began as an internal auditor at Coopers & Lybrand, and apart from running his own business, he held various government positions. Before his role as CEO of MTCC, Azim served as the Managing Director of the Maldives Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) from December 2018 to January 2020 and as the Managing Director of the State Trading Organization (STO) from November 2013 to February 2015, according to ANI.

In the mayoral election, Azim secured a substantial lead with 5,303 votes after counting 41 boxes. His opponent, Aishath Azima Shakoor of Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC), garnered 3,301 votes. Despite a low voter turnout, Azim’s victory is seen as a potential revival of the MDP’s political fortunes, given its majority in the Parliament.

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The ex-Foreign Minister of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid, congratulated Azim and the MDP for their victory, emphasizing that the capital has decisively rejected President Mohamed Muizzu and his policies within a short period of 58 days.

However, the mayoral election occurred in the backdrop of a diplomatic row with India. Three deputy ministers of the Muizzu government had posted derogatory comments against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leading to tensions between the two nations. Muizzu, during a state visit to China, expressed an inclination to align Maldives closer to Beijing. This move raised concerns in India, and calls for a tourist boycott by Indian visitors, who constituted the largest tourist group, followed by Russian and Chinese tourists.

In response to the derogatory comments made by his ministers, Muizzu suspended them, causing anxiety in India and leading to discussions about potential consequences such as a tourist boycott. The diplomatic tension unfolded against the backdrop of Muizzu’s efforts to position Maldives as an independent and sovereign state, rejecting the notion that it belongs to any specific country’s backyard.

President Muizzu’s governance has been marked by a departure from the previous administration’s alignment with India. He has emphasized the need for Maldives, as a small country, not to be bullied and has strongly stated that the nation is independent and sovereign. His government has pursued policies signaling a shift away from the “India-out” campaign that brought him to power, hinting at a growing alignment with China in the struggle for dominance in the Indian Ocean Region.

As President Muizzu returns from his state visit to China on January 13, the political landscape in Maldives appears to be undergoing notable shifts, both domestically with the MDP’s mayoral victory and internationally with diplomatic tensions affecting relations with India. The coming days will likely shed light on the evolving dynamics in the region and Maldives’ strategic positioning in the complex geopolitical landscape.