Maldives vice president resigns as polls get mired

Maldives vice president has resigned as political infighting deepens in the race to elect a new president, local media reported here on Sunday. Mohamed Waheed Deen resigned after a second round runoff was postponed amidst calls for the resignation of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan. The vice president's resignation came after the country's last ditch attempt to elect a new president before the constitutional deadline of Nov. 11 failed after the Supreme Court suspended the runoff slated for Sunday. Former president Mohamed Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party ( MDP) had warned that the country could be heading for a constitutional crisis without a leader, but the Supreme Court Saturday ruled that outgoing Waheed can remain as a caretaker. However, Nasheed has called for Waheed's resignation, insisting that holding a second round runoff on Nov. 16 under him would be " unconstitutional." Nasheed said he believes that the Speaker of Parliament should take over despite the Supreme Court blocked the move on Saturday. Nasheed on Saturday garnered 46.93 percent of the popular vote but fell short of the 50 percent needed to win outright, with the runoff scheduled for the following day. Nasheed was to face former President Abdul Gayoom's half- brother Abdulla Yameen in a second round runoff on Sunday. "If there is an election under President Waheed it would be unconstitutional and it will be difficult. We hope that he resigns tomorrow (Monday) and we are seeking for an election where the Speaker of Parliament will be appointed as the Head of State and he will oversee a transition of power," Nasheed told reporters. Waheed came into power after controversially ousting Nasheed from power in February 2012. The latter remains the first democratically elected president of the Maldives and insists his removal was a coup. This is the third attempt being made to elect a new president. Political wrangling over the electoral list has already derailed a previous election on Oct. 19, which the police blocked at the last minute because the lists were not signed by Yameen and fellow candidate tycoon Gasim Ibrahim. Gasim, who came in third in the latest round of polls with just 23.34 percent, has agreed to back Yameen in the runoff, the latter noted. The first round of voting on Sept. 7 that saw Nasheed emerge as winner was also later annulled by the Supreme Court after Gasim alleged large scale vote rigging.