Team rushed to Maldives to ensure free and fair polls

NEW DELHI: India has dispatched a team of senior diplomats to Male on Tuesday, hoping to put pressure on the Maldives government to hold the next round of presidential elections as scheduled on November 9 and ensure that it’s free and fair.

The previous round of polling, scheduled for October 19, was scrapped following intervention by the police, a decision that upset India. New Delhi has since built up international pressure to compel incumbent President Mohammed Waheed to hold the latest round of polls.

This latest visit, diplomatic sources say, is to make sure that free and fair elections are held as scheduled. The team will be led by a joint secretary in the ministry of external affairs. Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh had visited Maldives to engage with key political players ahead of the last round.

Mohamed Nasheed, a candidate close to India who was ousted from the presidency in February last year, is the frontrunner in these elections after he won one round of polling in September, although he fell short of the required 50% of votes. Indian officials are expected to hold consultations with representatives of UN and Commonwealth countries in Male, and Singh has already met envoys of permanent members of the UN Security Council to create pressure on Waheed to hold early elections.

A further delay in holding the polls could plunge Maldives in crisis because the country needs a president by Nov 11 when Waheed’s term ends. If the November 9 polls do not throw up a winner with more than 50% of the votes, the second round will be held on November 16.