Maldives elects Mohamed Muizzu as new leader

Maldives on 30 September elected opposition leader Mohamed Muizzu as the country’s president, giving him 54 percent of the votes, according to preliminary results.

Muizzu, candidate for the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), roundly defeated incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and is set to be sworn in on November 17.

There were more than 282,000 eligible voters and turnout was 85 percent