AA UKULHAS, Maldives: The opposition alliance in the Maldives has named a backup candidate for the presidential election later this year, in the event the exiled former president is unable to contest due to legal obstacles.
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, a lawmaker from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, was named the backup candidate at the party congress late Saturday.
The party congress approved a resolution saying that former President Mohamed Nasheed would be the party’s preferred candidate, but that if he fails to secure the candidacy, Solih will contest in his place.
Nasheed had earlier announced that he will not contest the September election because the election commission had refused to recognize his victory in a recent party primary.
Nasheed has been sentenced to 13 years in prison, making him ineligible to contest the election. The verdict was widely criticized as politically motivated, and the Supreme Court earlier this year ordered Nasheed’s release and retrial, which the government refused to implement.
President Yameen Abdul Gayoom was preparing to contest the upcoming election virtually unopposed, with all of his potential opponents either in jail or forced into exile. Following the Supreme Court order to release and retry Nasheed, the government arrested the chief justice and another judge. The remaining three Supreme Court justices then reversed their order.
Solih, a 25-year lawmaker, has worked closely with Nasheed in transforming the Maldives into a multiparty democracy.
The Indian Ocean archipelago nation had its first multiparty election in 2008, with Nasheed defeating 30-year autocrat Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
Nasheed resigned in 2012 amid public protests over his order to the military to detain a sitting judge. He lost the 2013 election to Gayoom’s half brother, Yameen, who has reversed many of the country’s democratic gains.
Gayoom is now an ally of the pro-Nasheed coalition and was jailed by his half brother.
Yameen’s administration has also jailed his former vice president, two defense ministers, the chief justice and a Supreme Court judge, as well as many other politicians and officials.
Maldives opposition names backup candidate
Maldives opposition names backup candidate
- The party congress approved a resolution saying that former President Mohamed Nasheed would be the party’s preferred candidate, but that if he fails to secure the candidacy, Solih will contest in his place
- Nasheed had earlier announced that he will not contest the September election because the election commission had refused to recognize his victory in a recent party primary
Philippines seeks to regain Chinese visitors as arrivals lag behind regional rivals
- 262,000 Chinese tourists visited Philippines in 2025, compared to 1.7m in 2019
- Vietnam is top destination for Chinese travelers, with about 4.8m visitors this year
MANILLA: The Philippines is trailing behind other countries in Southeast Asia in winning back Chinese tourists, with arrivals well below a quarter of pre-pandemic levels so far this year, latest data showed.
Known for its white sandy beaches, famous diving spots and diverse culture, the Philippines was welcoming an increasing number of Chinese tourists in the period before the pandemic, with the number peaking at over 1.7 million in 2019, when it was the second-largest source market after South Korea.
But the post-pandemic rebound has been slow, with China ranking sixth among international arrivals and the number of Chinese visitors reaching only 262,000 as of Dec. 20, according to data from the Philippine Department of Tourism.
“China remains one of the country’s largest and most important source markets,” the tourism department said earlier this week.
Chinese arrivals this year are equivalent to only around 15 percent of the numbers in 2019 and there is stiff competition with regional rivals like Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia each welcoming at least 1 million tourists from China in 2025.
Vietnam has become Chinese travelers’ top travel destination in Southeast Asia with around 4.8 million visitors so far this year, followed by Thailand, which has recorded about 4.36 million.
China is Singapore’s top source market, with nearly 3 million visitors as of November.
To attract more visitors from China, the Philippines reintroduced electronic visas for Chinese travelers in November, after suspending the system for two years.
“The eVisa resumption is a critical step forward and a clear signal that the Philippines is open, ready, and eager to welcome our Chinese friends,” said Ireneo Reyes, the tourism attache to China.
“While the timing meant that its full benefits could not be felt within the peak booking periods of 2025, we expect a more visible impact beginning the first quarter of 2026.”
The Philippine tourism department said that “recovery has also been constrained by reduced flight capacity, with China-Philippines routes operating at only about 45 percent of pre-pandemic levels,” adding that officials were working closely with relevant stakeholders to “rebuild connectivity and confidence.”
Tourism is an important sector in the Philippine economy, according to a report by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office, accounting for about 13.2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product last year and making up around 13.8 percent of its labor force.
