Crushing victory for the pro-China leadership party in the Maldives

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won control of parliament in an election disruption on Sunday, results showed. Voters backed him toward China and away from regional superpower and traditional benefactor India.

Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) won 66 of the first 86 seats, according to results from the Maldives Election Commission, more than enough for a supermajority in the 93-member majlis, parliament.

The vote was seen as a crucial test for Muizzu’s plan to press ahead with closer economic cooperation with China, including building thousands of apartments on controversial reclaimed land.

The PNC and its allies had just eight seats in the outgoing parliament, with the lack of a majority hampering Muizzu after his victory in September’s presidential election.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – which previously had a supermajority itself – was heading for a humiliating defeat with only a dozen seats.

Muizzu, 45, was one of the first to vote on Sunday. He cast his vote at a school in the capital Male – where he previously served as mayor – and urged Maldives to turn out in large numbers to vote.

“All citizens must come out and exercise their right to vote as soon as possible,” Muizzu told reporters.