Maldives Supreme Court postpones presidential run-off

The Maldives Supreme Court has postponed the second round of the country's presidential election, which was due to have taken place on Saturday.

The court said that a new run-off date will be set once it has ruled on the case.

Qasim Ibrahim, who came in third in the first round of voting, had last week asked the apex court to terminate the results, alleging electoral fraud.

According to the BBC, Mohammed Nasheed, who was forced from office in an alleged coup last year, won 45 percent of the vote in the first round.

Nasheed, who won the first free election in the Maldives in 2008, needed more than 50 percent to avoid a run-off against his rival, Abdulla Yameen, who got 25 percent of the vote, the report said.

Members of Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party protested against the court's decision, saying that the election should be held as scheduled on Saturday.

According to the report, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, spokesman for the party, said that the decision was unconstitutional, adding that they have appealed the decision.

Local and international poll monitors found the elections to be clean and fair.

The postponement means a breach of the constitution, as there will be a gap of more than three weeks between the two rounds, says the BBC's Charles Haviland, the report added.