The pro-China party led by Mohamed Muizzu won a landslide victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections in the Maldives.

Muizzu's National People's Congress (PNC) party won more than two-thirds of the seats, according to preliminary results.

As announced by the election commission, citing preliminary tally results, the PNC won more than two-thirds of the 93 seats in parliament on Sunday. Therefore, voters supported Muizzu's policy of deepening economic and military ties with China at the expense of its traditional partner, India.

After distributing 86 of the 93 parliamentary seats based on ballot papers, the PNC has secured 66 seats, according to the election commission. In the parliament where his term of office will end, the president's party only has eight seats. According to preliminary results, the pro-India opposition party, MDP, which previously had a majority in parliament, suffered a crushing defeat with around a dozen seats.

The voter turnout rate is more than 70 percent

Nearly 285,000 citizens were called to vote. According to returning officer Fuad Thaufeeq, voter turnout reached 73 percent half an hour before the polls closed.

It may take a week before final election results are available. The new parliament in the Muslim-majority South Asian island nation is scheduled to meet in early May.

Strategically important location

Muizzu was elected in September on a promise to expel Indian security forces from the country. In March, India began withdrawing troops previously stationed in the Maldives to patrol its long maritime border.

During the election campaign, Muizzu awarded high-value contracts to expand infrastructure to Chinese state-owned companies. His government also signed an agreement with China on “military support”. Beijing is the Maldives' main lender. India views China's expansion of influence in the Indian Ocean with suspicion.

The Maldives is located in a strategically important location in the Indian Ocean. International trade routes lead directly through 1,192 coral islands. The country is a popular luxury tourist destination for tourists from all over the world because of its white sandy beaches. (sda/afp)