Government dismisses Commonwealth’s “biased” early election calls, fears “civil war”
17 Mar 2012, 5:48 PM
Neil Merrett
The Maldives government has dismissed the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG)’s call for early general elections as biased, claiming the nation is not capable of holding a free and fair vote at present.
The CMAG on Friday reiterated its call for early elections after former President Mohamed Nasheed accused the government of his successor, Mohamed Waheed Hassan, of coming to power in a “coup d’etat.”
CMAG said it strongly believed “that the earliest possible expression of the will of the people was required to establish universal faith in the legitimacy of those who govern the [Maldives].”
However, at a press conference today, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dhunya Maumoon criticised CMAG’s statement, which she alleged served to promote the interests of specific parties or individuals.
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