Maldives president calls for peaceful presidential election

Maldives President has called for peaceful election preparations as the country makes a third attempt to elect a new head of state amidst deep political infighting, local media said here on Tuesday. Maldives outgoing President Dr. Mohamed Waheed has urged measures to ensure that the preparations for the election scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9, are peaceful and orderly. The president said this in a statement issued on the occasion of the Hijri New Year, also known as Islamic New Year. He said that the election on Saturday must be peaceful and the person who is elected must be sworn in as president; and with the arrival of a new year, it is the national responsibility of every Maldivian citizen to work together, to ensure political progress and prosperity for the country. Referring to Prophet Mohamed's journey from Mecca to Medina which marks the beginning of the Hijri calendar, President Waheed said that this journey is remindful of the sense of brotherhood and solidarity that exists among Muslims. He called on Maldivians to work on strengthening their brotherly bonds and maintaining peace and order, despite the present divisions in society caused by political upheavals. His call came as Maldives heads for the Constitutional void on Nov. 11 if no president is elected in the latest round of elections. The first round of voting on Sept. 7 handed victory to former president Mohammad Nasheed but was later annulled by the Supreme Court after a candidate alleged large scale vote rigging. International monitors had said the elections were free and fair. A second attempt to have polling on Oct. 19 was disrupted after police blocked the distribution of ballot papers and ballot boxes to 200 odd islands just hours before voting was to begin. A peaceful election on Saturday will be key if Maldives, famed for its lucrative tourism industry, is to avoid falling into further political disarray, which began in February 2012 when Nasheed was controversially ousted from power. It is what he insists was a coup by Waheed.