MALE: (Reuters) –
*Voters in the Maldives handed President Mohamed Muizzu’s party a landslide win at parliamentary elections, media said on Monday, an outcome set to shift the Indian Ocean archipelago closer to China and away from traditional partner India.*
*Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) won 65 of the 93 seats up for grabs on Sunday, preliminary results from the Maldives Elections Commission and media projections show.*
*The main opposition Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) dwindled to just 12 seats from 65 earlier.*
*Both Beijing and New Delhi have wooed the Maldives as they vie for influence in the Indo-Pacific region.*
*Elected last year, Muizzu has pledged to end the country’s “India First” policy, straining ties with New Delhi.*
*His government has asked dozens of Indian military personnel to leave the Maldives, a move critics say could hasten its shift towards China.*
*Muizzu’s post as president is not affected by Sunday’s vote, in which 368 candidates contested for five-year terms.*
