Maldives’ pro-China opposition candidate wins presidential runoff

The Maldives’ pro-China opposition candidate Mohamed Muiz defeated incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in a presidential runoff election on Saturday that was widely billed as a contest of influence between New Delhi and Beijing.

Muiz, the 45-year-old mayor of the capital Male and member of the pro-China People’s National Congress, won about 54 percent of the vote, according to tentative results released by the election commission. Solih, 61, of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party, who has pursued closer ties with India, secured about 46 percent of the vote.

The Indian Ocean island nation is loca...