Election cannot be held by force: President

President Dr Mohamed Waheed has said that an election cannot be held by force, and that any election held by force will lead to bloodshed.

Speaking at a press conference held at the President’s Office today, the president said that he will not allow anyone to hold the election by force.

“Regardless of what the international community says, or what a political party says, the most important thing is to ensure that the Maldivian people are protected. So I will not allow that,” he said.

President Waheed said that he discussed the issue of holding the election last Saturday with the chief justice as well as officials of the Elections Commission.

“All night [Friday night], I sought advice from various people. The government’s stand was that it will not support an election in which only one candidate participates, in violation of the Supreme Court order. So the police informed the Elections Commission in writing that they would not cooperate with efforts to hold the election in violation of the Supreme Court ruling,” he said.

He restated his claim that it is not in the best interest of the nation to hold an election in which only one candidate participates.

“The international community was pressuring me for the past 1.5 years, claiming that Nasheed should be allowed to contest in the election. Several groups have tried to take action against Nasheed. I’m happy that Nasheed can stand in the election today. Similarly, Nasheed should be happy that other candidates can stand in as well. Nasheed cannot participate in an election in which other candidates can't. If he does, we would question his moral principles,” he said.

President Waheed said that the election in the Maldives should be fair, and organised as agreed by all candidates.