Maldives President Mohamed Waheed Hassan casts his vote in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. (AP Photo)
The Maldives, ironically on its 45th Republic Day (Monday) has entered another phase of political uncertainty and a potential constitutional crisis. Minutes before his term was to end, President Mohamed Waheed addressed the nation announcing that he would remain in power till the run-off polls scheduled for November 16 - between top contender ex-President Mohamed Nasheed and former autocrat Maumoon Gayoom's brother Abdulla Yameen Gayoom.
"Since the Constitution does not state what must happen in this situation and since there is a fear of a constitutional void, I asked the People's Majlis (Parliament) to solve this issue. However, the best solution was not found and since the Constitution does not state what must happen, the Supreme Court has decided the government will continue instead of going into a constitutional void," Mr Waheed said. Soon after the speech, the President and his family left capital Male, reportedly for an island get-away.
Former President Nasheed and his party the MDP argue otherwise. They cite Article 124(B) of the Constitution which outlines the successors if the Presidency falls vacant. The first in line after the Vice-President, they say, is the Speaker of the Majlis (who is from Mr Nasheed's party). The current regime's Vice-President resigned earlier on Sunday.
Protests broke out between Mr Nasheed's supporters and the police in Male soon after Mr Waheed's announcement. Some injuries and arrests were also reported bringing back memories of the violent clashes that took place in February 2012 after a controversial change of guard. The then-President Nasheed resigned after what he said was a virtual coup at gunpoint but has been battling to regain power. Over the last two months, scheduled polls have been annulled, stopped from being held and postponed - the latest being the Supreme Court pushing a run-off to November 16.
On Sunday, the Supreme Court postponed the run-off vote. In the first round re-vote on Saturday, none of the three candidates got to the magic 50% + 1 vote. Provisional numbers provided by the country's Election Commission gave Mr Nasheed 46.93% of the vote. Mr Gayoom was second with 29.73% of vote share. They will face each other in the run-off. Qasim Ibrahim was third with 23.34% and is knocked out of the race.
Despite the Supreme Court order, the island nation is facing an extremely fragile situation with the Majlis Speaker Abdulah Shahid declaring the government illegitimate. "A government is not legitimate unless it is carried on with the consent of the governed. As of 11/11/13 we have no legitimate government," he tweeted. He also wrote a letter to President Waheed and other state institutions informing them that Dr Waheed's term was over. This raises the possibility of two power centres - with two men claiming to be the legitimate heads of state and therefore the Supreme Commander of the police and defence forces.
Earlier on Sunday, ex-President Nasheed had warned the current President and asked the international community to avert a constitutional crisis. At a press conference he said, "In my view, the international community is partly responsible for the messy situation here in the Maldives. We had a perfectly well-oiled government in 2012. They came and they recognised my Vice-President as the head of state. They have an obligation not to recognise him after the end of that period."
The Commonwealth was the first to react to President Waheed staying in office after his term ended. The Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Maldives Sir Donald McKinnon expressed dismay at the decision terming it against the letter and spirit of the Constitution.
The US, UK and the European Union are expected to express harsh views too. But pro-Nasheed supporters say that's not enough - with the former President consistently advocating sanctions against the current regime. His party also felt let down when India immediately recognised the current regime in 2012. Since then, New Delhi has tried to push for free, fair and credible elections. But, it seems to have been rebuffed several times. India has not yet reacted to the several judicial, executive and legislative developments over the weekend.