Maldivians vote in a runoff presidential election that will decide whether India or China holds sway

By MOHAMED SHARUHAN
Associated Press

MALE, Maldives (AP) — Maldivians have voted in a runoff presidential election that has turned into a virtual referendum on which regional power, India or China, will have the biggest influence in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation. Neither main opposition candidate Mohamed Muiz nor incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih secured more than 50% in the first round of voting earlier in September. Muiz’s party, the People’s National Congress, is viewed as heavily pro-China. Muiz has accused Solih of allowing India an unchecked presence in the country. Solih has insisted that the Indian military’s presence in the Maldives was only to build a dockyard under an agreement between the two governments and that his country’s sovereignty will not be violated.