MAL, Maldives, April 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has cut down his cabinet and brought in new ministers, the government said on Wednesday, following his party's humiliating defeat at local polls.

Muizzu introduced four new faces into a cabinet trimmed to 15 members from the previous 20. Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel was replaced by the Maldives High Commissioner in London, Iruthisham Adam.

"President Muizzu has restructured the cabinet, reducing the number of ministers to 15 members," his office said in a statement.

Defence Minister Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon resigned on Tuesday along with nine other ministers, clearing the way for Muizzu to carry out the overhaul. Maumoon's replacement has yet to be named.

The cabinet shake-up comes 10 days after Maldivians voted to reject a government plan to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day in a bid to save about $8 million in costs.

A local council election held alongside the referendum also saw a humiliating defeat for Muizzu's People's National Congress.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party swept key councils in the capital, Male, and in the archipelago's second-largest constituency, Addu.

The Maldives, a tiny nation of 1,192 coral islands scattered across the equator, has emerged as a geopolitical hotspot as it straddles a key east-west maritime shipping route.

Regional powerhouse India and economic giant China have been competing for influence in the archipelago, home to around 382,000 people.