President Nasheed has no legitimacy to remain as President: Opposition groups

Opposition groups and 23 December Coalition have said that President Mohamed Nasheed has no legitimacy to remain as President and called for the military and police to unite with Vice President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.

At a Press Conference held last night following a meeting between opposition groups including the 23 December Coalition and Vice President, PPM Vice President Umar Naseer said that President Nasheed has acted in conflict with the law and thus is no longer legitimate to hold the post of President, and advised all members of the Coalition to unite with the Vice President.

“The Coalition calls for the security forces to immediately come together with Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik. Dr Waheed was chosen by the votes of the Maldivian people. He has not acted in conflict with the law. Mohamed Nasheed on the other hand, has violated the Constitution,” Umar said.

Umar said that in addition to President Nasheed acting in conflict with the law, him saying that elections will not be held in 2013 means that the Coalition to no longer accepts him as President.

Deputy Leader of DRP Ibrahim Shareef said that the Coalition informed the Vice President its current concerns and requested that he assume the post of President of the Maldives.

“We no longer accept President Nasheed as our President. As he has evidently acted in conflict with the constitution, he has no legitimacy to remain as President. He is a threat to the whole country. The country will end up in an extremely dangerous situation if he is not dealt with properly,” Shareef said.

Until now, members of the Coalition would not disclose the Vice President’s response to their request to the media.

Umar also said that he inquired the Vice President if he is willing to assume responsibility as the country’s President, to which the Vice President replied that he is ready to take on any responsibility obligated by the country’s existing laws.

23 December Coalition first held a secret meeting at 11.30pm at DRP Office last night, and later met with the Vice President for about forty minutes.

It has not yet been possible to contact the Vice President regarding this issue.

Attempts to contact Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair to inquire about accusations made against the government have also not been successful.