Maldives presidential candidates want election Nov 2

All three presidential candidates in the Maldives have agreed to hold presidential election a week early on Nov 2 to avoid a constitutional crisis, media reports said here Monday.

The three presidential candidates have agreed to propose to the Elections Commission to hold the first round of the presidential election Nov 2, and the second round Nov 9, Xinhua reported.

Former president Mohamed Nasheed, the front-runner, Monday said they agreed to visit the Elections Commission to make this proposition.

He said the three candidates also agreed that the problems with the voters' list can be solved through dialogue.

Presidential candidate of Progressive Party of Maldives Abdulla Yameen, Jumhooree Party's Gasim Ibrahim, and Maldivian Democratic Party's Mohamed Nasheed spoke to the media after a meeting Sunday night.

Earlier, the first round was scheduled to be held Nov 9 with the second round run-off tabled for Nov 16, if required.

However, if a new president does not take charge by Nov 11 as specified in the Maldives constitution, there will be a constitutional void and the speaker of parliament will have to take over and oversee a transition of power.

This is the third attempt to hold the presidential election in the Maldives. The first round held Sep 7 was annulled by the Supreme Court, after Gasim alleged large-scale vote rigging despite international monitors saying the poll was fair. Yameen also supported Gasim in the allegations.

A second round that was to be held Oct 19 was stopped just hours ahead of the voting by police who refused to assist the Elections Commission in distributing ballot papers and boxes to some 200 islands.