Nasheed asks supporters to protest revote postponement

Ousted Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed has asked his supporters to protest and "be angry" at the decision to postpone a key presidential revote which was blocked at the last minute by the police.
Nasheed, the leader of the Maldivian Democratic Party, told supporters at a rally here late last night that they should do everything to arrest and jail President Mohammed Waheed and keep up their campaign to ensure elections.
The presidential revote in the Maldives was blocked at the last minute by police yesterday, plunging the country into fresh political turmoil and sparking protests by supporters of Nasheed, who was expected to win the revote.

Minutes before voting was to start, the Elections Commission (EC) issued a statement saying police had blocked its officials from conducting the revote.
Nasheed, 46, addressing his supporters at the rally, said, "I will not stop, I will remain steadfast. My hope, my sincere appeal to all Maldivian citizens is to do all we can to remove Baagee (traitor) Mohamed Waheed from power, to arrest him and jail him".
"Be angry. Do not be disheartened. Melancholia lowers your spirits. Anger makes you determined, makes you act. We should be angry at this moment. This is not the time for melancholia. This is not the time to step back. This is the time to go forward," he was quoted as saying by Minivan News.

Elections Commission head Fuwad Thowfeek yesterday accused police of exceeding their powers and undermining the poll panel's independence.

"I believe that they crossed the line. They believe that they can boss us around...That is a clear violation of their mandate," he said.
Nasheed, vowing to fight for elections, said, "Unless we are able to carry out peaceful political activities, we cannot bring the change we wish to the Maldives. There has been a coup in the Maldives, and the coup backers, in order to maintain that coup, are committing bigger and bigger atrocities day after day," he said.
"They overthrew an elected government through a coup. More than 18 months have passed since the coup. And when we asked for an election, when the election's results became clear, they annulled the election and now are attempting to make sure an election does not take place," the MDP leader said.