Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed on Saturday demanded the government fulfil its promise to set an early election date to ease the political impasse gripping the troubled islands. "The people of the country want an early election. They want to know the date and how it will be organised," Nasheed told thousands of party supporters during a rally in the capital Male early Saturday.
New Maldivian President Mohamed Waheed agreed on Thursday to bring forward elections originally scheduled for October 2013, in an apparent concession to Nasheed who claims he was toppled in a coup d'etat. Nasheed welcomed Waheed's decision, but the new authorities have yet to set a date for the poll.
The archipelago has been rocked by political turmoil and violence since February 7 when Nasheed, the Maldives' first democratically elected leader, quit following street protests and a mutiny by police officers. The former president went ahead with a planned mass rally of party supporters in the crowded capital on Friday, despite international pressure to call it off to avoid further unrest.
"We will not stop this protest tonight (Friday) or tomorrow (Saturday)... I am confident that the early election that we want will be held very soon. We will be informed of the date very soon," Nasheed said. Police maintained low profile during the event, which drew thousands of Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters from outlying islands.
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