Mohamed Muizzu

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mohamed Muizzu

• Muizzu is well-known for his inclination towards China. During the 2023 Presidential electoral campaign, he launched the “India Out” campaign, with the goal of withdrawing Indian military forces from the Maldives, where they had been stationed since 1988.

• He was born into a Muslim family in the Maldives.

• Before entering politics in 2012, Muizzu worked as a civil engineer in the private sector and oversaw the implementation of several infrastructural projects in the Maldives.

• He was appointed the Minister of Housing and Environment by President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik in 2012.

• He received acknowledgement in the Maldives for successfully implementing initiatives directed and financially supported by China. He played a crucial part in the construction of the famous Sinamalé Bridge, which was finished in 2018. Further, he played a pivotal role in the development of the Ring Road in Malé. Some other notable projects he oversaw include Rasfannu Beach, the King Salman Grand Mosque, and the transformation of Sultan Park.

• As a Minister of Housing and Environment, he assisted the Maldives government in establishing agreements and partnerships with major global players, such as China, Saudi Arabia, India, the UK, and the US.

  

• Reportedly, he left MDA in 2019 to join PPM to work closely with former Maldives President, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.

  

• In the 2021 Malé Mayoral elections, he got 9,548 votes, defeating his closest MDP competitor, Anas Abdul Sattar, by a margin of 3,791 votes. The MDP had won all the Mayoral elections in the city of Malé for eleven years.

  

• In 2023, the Progressive Alliance Coalition, including the PPM and the People’s National Congress (PNC), made the decision to nominate Muizzu as their candidate for the Presidential elections. Hussain Mohamed Latheef, who is a Member of the Parliament (MP), was selected to be his running mate.

• In the initial phase of the Presidential elections, Mohamed Muizzu obtained 46.06 per cent of the votes, and his closest competitor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, received 39.05 per cent of the votes. According to Maldives’ election regulations, a candidate must obtain at least 50 per cent of the vote to secure victory as a result of which the winning candidate was not announced.

• In September 2023, Muizzu won the second round of elections, securing 54.04% of the votes and defeating Solih.

• During the Presidential elections, Muizzu headed the “India Out” campaign through which he expressed his intention to withdraw Indian soldiers stationed in the Maldives upon becoming the President of the Maldives. He, while giving an interview, talked about it and said,
  

  The sovereignty of the Maldives is most important. The people have decided and don’t want Indian troops to stay in the Maldives. Therefore, foreign soldiers cannot be here against our sentiments, against our will. So, I have to tell the [Indian] ambassador who is going to meet me that we will have a very good relationship with these values.”

  

• Muizzu has often displayed a strong inclination towards China. In a discussion with the Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives before the 2023 Presidential elections, Muizzu affirmed his dedication to enhancing the relationship with China once in power. Many Maldivian politicians have criticized Muizzu’s open favouritism for China as they fear it could lead to excessive debt burdens.

  

• In a meeting between the government officials of Maldives and India held in Malé on 14 January 2024, a decision was made to set the date for the withdrawal of Indian troops from Maldives on 15 March 2024. ^[2]The Telegraph Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the principal secretary to the President of the Maldives, conveyed this information during a media briefing and said,
  

  Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and that of this administration.”

• In March 2024, amid tensions with India, Muizzu called India its ‘closest ally’ and said that he never intended to stop any developmental project funded by New Delhi. ^[3]The Print

• In June 2024, he launched a national fundraising campaign called “Maldivians in Solidarity with Palestine” and put a ban on people holding Israeli passports from entering the Maldives in protest against the war in Gaza.

• In 2024, the Mauritius State Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Energy, Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem was accused of performing black magic on Muizzu. Fathimath was arrested by the Maldives Police for this act.