Mohamed Nasheed, who resigned from the post of President of Maldives last Tuesday, has said that he was aware of the need for a mid-term election, and that he spoke in this regard earlier because “it is not easy to complete a five-year term, and we knew it.”
While speaking at the first MDP public meeting since his resignation, held at Dharubaaruge last night, he said that he was aware even when he took office that it would not be easy to complete a 5-year term after bringing an end to a 30-year regime.
“I believed from the beginning that it will not be easy to complete a 5-year term after the 30-year regime, so I talked about holding a mid-term election. We are not surprised that things turned out this way. Everything we did, we were aware of what we were doing,” Nasheed said.
Earlier, Nasheed said that the idea of a mid-term election was not his own, but one initiated by Gaumee Party President Hassan Saeed. He also said during the local council election campaign that a mid-term election is the same as a local council election.
Addressing MDP supporters, Nasheed said that current President Dr Waheed should resign and announce an election within two months.
“When we hold an election halfway into a term, we will start seeing a clearer and purer picture. We are now searching for this clarity. We will find this clarity,” MDP Chairperson Nasheed said.
He expressed confidence that the Parliament President will assume the post of President for these two months and resolve the country’s current problems.
He said that the Parliament President, when he is President of the country, will investigate the coup conducted by the Police and re-establish the lower courts.
Nasheed said that MDP will return to power and bring back the ‘compassionate’ government.
Leaders of MDP who spoke at the meeting called for the resignation of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, and demanded the announcement of an election.