Mohamed Muizzu: Maldives election’s pro-China frontrunner who ran ‘India out’ campaign

News Snapshot:

The frontrunner in Saturday’s Maldives presidential vote is an ardent advocate of Chinese investment and has pledged to free the country from India interference by India. Mohamed Muizzu, a 45-year-old civil engineer by training, was an unlikely candidate after serving as construction minister in the government of his mentor Abdulla Yameen. But Yameen’s jailing for corruption saw Muizzu tapped to lead the party as his proxy in an election that will decide whether the strategically placed atoll aligns itself with China or India. Muizzu, presently the mayor of Male, oversaw several Chinese-funded infrastructure projects including a $200-million bridge linking the...