human development

Maldives sank further into political disarray on Saturday when police blocked officials from conducting a presidential revote, saying that holding the election would violate a Supreme Court order.

The Indian Ocean archipelago nation has only about three weeks before the end of the current president's term, and if his replacement is not elected by then it will spark a constitutional crisis. The high court annulled the results of the September 7 presidential election, agreeing with a losing candidate that the voters' registry included fictitious names and dead people, but it set conditions for a revote that officials appear to have been unable to meet.

Elections Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek attempted to hold the election as scheduled, the ground floor of his building was full of policemen stopping his staff from carrying election material outside. He then called the election off.

The election was stopped because the commissioner has not complied with a court order to have the voters' list endorsed by the candidates. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is   not authorized to speak to reporters.

Two candidates did not sign the voters list Friday, saying it needed to be verified for any irregularities, but Thowfeek had said their demands for double-checking the list were impossible to meet in time for the election.

The Supreme Court said in its ruling annulling the September election that a revote must take place before Sunday. It likely will need to issue a new ruling in order for an election to be held before President Mohamed Waheed Hassan's term ends on November 11.

Thowfeek had announced earlier Saturday that he would hold the election on the court's advice, despite the fact that not all candidates had endorsed the list of voters. However, he said later the court did not specifically advise that he conduct the election, but instead asked him to follow the original guidelines, which is open to interpretation.

The Maldives became a democracy five years ago after 30 years of autocratic rule and has had a difficult transition.

Its first democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed, was forced to resign last year midway through his term after he ordered the arrest of a senior judge he perceived as corrupt and partial. Nasheed says he was forced out of power by a coup, though an inquiry commission has dismissed his claim.

Nasheed, who finished first in the September balloting but did not win the majority of votes needed to avoid a runoff, had endorsed the voter list. The other candidates, Yaamin Abdul Gayoom, a brother of the country's longtime autocratic leader, and businessman Qasim Ibrahim, who challenged the first-round result in court, did not approve it.