The leading candidate in the Maldives’ troubled presidential election demanded Sunday that the president resign and allow the parliamentary speaker to take over the government and oversee a fresh poll. Speaking to reporters a day after police stopped officials from holding a scheduled revote of last month’s election, Mohamed Nasheed accused President Mohamed Waheed Hassan of working with the country’s defense minister and police chief to obstruct the vote. The move by the police to stop Saturday’s revote came as the latest blow to this Indian Ocean island nation, which has seen much upheaval in its first five years as a democracy. Failing to elect a president by Nov. 11, when Hassan’s term ends, could bring about a constitutional crisis in the country. The Supreme Court earlier this month annulled the results of the Sept. 7 election, agreeing with a losing candidate that the voters’ list had made-up names and names of dead people. Nasheed led that election with more than 45 percent of the vote, but failed to secure a majority for an outright win.
Nasheed said Sunday that he had lost all hope that an election will ever be held during Hassan’s tenure, accusing Hassan, Defense Minister Mohamed Nasim and Police Chief Abdulla Riyaz of wanting to stay in power without having a new vote.
“It is very evident that they have been obstructing the election and it is also very evident the game they are trying to play,” Nasheed told reporters, adding that Hassan, Nasim and Riyaz want to take Maldives into a “constitutional void” and stay in power for a long time.
“We believe that the only prudent way forward and a possible solution is for Dr. Waheed (Hassan) to resign and the speaker of Parliament to take over government until Nov. 11, for the election to be held under his tenure and not under the unelected … rule of Dr. Waheed,” Nasheed said.
Presidential spokesman Masood Imad denied Nasheed’s allegation, and said Hassan would not step down.
Full Article: Maldives Election 2013: Challenger Wants President To Resign.
