Maldives President Waheed has said he will remain an independent observer of the upcoming presidential elections but expressed doubt over their credibility.
Speaking via local media on the occasion of the Muslim holiday Eid-al-Adha, Waheed, who earlier this week withdrew from running for a second term as president, insisted that he would not back any of the three candidates still in the fray.
This includes former President Mohammad Nasheed who bagged 45. 45 percent of the vote in the first round that was later annulled.
The other two contenders are tycoon Gasim Ibrahim and autocratic former President Abdul Gayoom's half-brother MP Abdulla Yamin. Both candidates polled nearly equally with only some 3,000 votes giving Yamin a slight edge.
During the now defunct presidential poll held on Sept. 7, Waheed obtained 5.13 percent of the popular vote, finishing last of the four candidates contesting.
He said that it remained the duty of all Maldivian heads of state "to bring happiness and joy in to the hearts of the people, and to save them from the uneasiness and conflict that has engulfed the country".
Addressing the nation, Waheed said the best care had been taken of the "treasure" Maldivian citizens had trusted him with five years ago, Xinhua reported.
However, questioning the integrity of the election currently scheduled to be held on Oct. 19, he claimed that division and vengeance were now widespread in society, adding that it had now become very difficult to differentiate between fact and fabrication.
The election on Sept. 7, which saw an 88 percent voter turnout, was unanimously considered credible and democratic by more than 1, 000 local and international election observers, before the country ' s Supreme Court annulled the vote over allegations of voter irregularities.
