Editor's note: Muad Mohamad Zaki is a security strategist, specializing in international relations. He is a former senior member of the Maldivian Democratic Party. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

This year, the Maldives will hold its presidential elections on Sept. 23 and the world's largest economic powers are carefully watching for a reason.

To international travelers, it is a paradise on Earth and a dream holiday destination. However, the tiny island nation consisting of over 1,000 coral islands is a geographically strategic prize for powerful militaries and economies.

The country held its first democratic multi-party election in 2008 and since then, they have shifted to a very polarized form of politics followed by various internal power struggles. These struggles have not given much room for any president to actually do much for the country.

Many independent voters are concerned with the intolerance that has spread within a community that had once always supported each other -- a principle that came before any party or international politics.

Whichever president wins the election, the biggest challenge he will face is implementing a system of transparency in governance, which the Maldives has not been able to do under any political party.

Political favoritism within ministries and state institutions have always existed, and it is not about who is in power or who comes to power, but the product of a young and immature democracy, something that no President can change if half his time is spent fighting for his political life.

With globalization and the changing dimension of global military alliances, the Maldives was forced into the international spotlight with its strategic location on the world map.

The country's politicians have always faced hardship in finding large-scale foreign government-backed investments for development projects. That was before China came into the picture.

Today, various China-backed transportation & infrastructure investments in the Maldives are expected to stimulate the growth of local business communities. However, transparency is an important factor that will decide just how much the Maldivian people will actually benefit in the long run.

There is a general sense of understanding that all internationally-backed investments in housing and transportation infrastructure must be honored if any new government is to take office. Otherwise, all future foreign investments into the Maldives would be at risk. 

As China's influence in the country expands, some argue that the Maldives foreign policy should move towards India instead. What they fail to mention is that if India had the same economic strength as China, it will most likely follow very similar foreign investment policies as well.

India is understandably worried about this; however, some of its right-wing politicians have made miscalculated threats against the Maldives, which has pushed the country even further towards Beijing.

The United States, Europe, India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Britain are all seeking to influence various political parties to counter China's long-term influence on the Maldives.

So far, China has been the only country that actually invested the most in building roads and affordable housing, while others have mostly spent on their own business ventures which are usually based on political influence.

What the outside governments do not understand is that the democracy in the Maldives is very young and fluid. Politics is so polarized that even transparency and human rights NGOs are nearly all politically influenced. Political neutrality is almost impossible if you are a Maldivian who is living with the daily growing complex divide and newly formed alliances between former rivals.

The new generation of Maldivians is more educated; therefore, politicians of any stripe will have greater difficulty in persuading them. These young voters tend to assess the history of a party or individual, their policies, as well as their actions, which outweigh their political promises.

No one can really predict who will win the elections since both sides have been campaigning with full force to convince undecided voters.

What is certain, from an economic standpoint, is that China is here to stay in the Maldives. Without China's investments, much of the roads and other public infrastructure would not be as they are today.

There is also no other country in the world that has offered the same level of investment into the public sector without any political strings attached.

Due to this reason, any sharp shift away from further investments from China would slow down the country's growth in the long run.

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