The presidential election campaign of the Progressive Party of Maldives-People's National Congress (PPM-PNC) was predominantly based on allegations against India and disinformation was spread as emotive appeals to the public, according to the European Union's (EU) election observation report.
The final report published after concluding a mission to observe the two rounds of the presidential election on September 9 and 30 stated that the PPM-PNC campaign spread many claims about alleged Indian influence in the Maldives.
"Their campaign included anti-Indian sentiments, based on fears of Indian influences and anxiety regarding a presence of Indian military personnel inside the country. This theme was subject to multiple online disinformation attempts," the EU report said.
The EU mission previously said that many social media accounts operated on Twitter and Facebook disseminated false content. The online outlet Dhiyares also conducted "a coordinated disinformation campaign" against President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the EU said.
One of the most important pledges of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who won the election, was to expel Indian soldiers from the Maldives. But the pledge has not been fulfilled and the government says discussions are underway with the Indian government through diplomatic channels to remove the Indian troops.
In addition to the presence of Indian soldiers, the then-opposition PNC alleged that defense cooperation agreements signed by President Solih's administration with India included several provisions that adversely affect Maldivian independence. However, both the Maldivian and Indian governments denied the allegations at the time.
