Waheed hints at elections in Maldives next year

New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) Stressing that Maldives is today more democratic than ever before, President Mohamed Waheed said he is "all for" free and fair elections but indicated that the polls will take place only next year. Waheed, who is here on his first foreign trip since becoming President in a tumultuous regime change in February, said at a press conference here on Monday that during his meetings here he has assured that Maldives will honour all agreements and in return also got reassurances of strong Indian support for his country. The Maldivian President held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during which he briefed Singh of the political situation in his country and sought financial assistance from New Delhi. Maldives is facing a budget deficit of USD 500 million. Waheed also made it clear that India was not pushing Maldives to do anything "against the Constitution" on holding presidential elections. "I am all for free and fair elections. I can assure you that there will be elections in Maldives as early as the Constitution of the country shall allow. Any earlier than that ... we will have to look into political considerations in the country. Coalition partners are not in agreement over an earlier election than July of next year, partly because they themselves are not ready for it," Waheed said. Explaining that Maldives had a Presidential system rather than a parliamentary, Waheed said any early election would warrant numerous political changes including amendment in the constitution to give a five-year term to the President. He said he will invite observers from foreign countries during the elections. The 59-year-old President also said his predecessor Mohamed Nasheed "drove away" his coalition partners while in power. Talking about his "difficult" relationship with Nasheed as his Vice President till February, Waheed said Nasheed had "not honoured" many of the pacts that he had made with the coalition partners of his government and that was the reason why they left him. "He (Nasheed) comes from a big party but he was not able to identify a credible running mate for himself so he came to me .... Nasheed and I were able to win the elections with the support of other political parties. Specific agreements were signed with various political parties in terms of power sharing," Waheed said. He said he also had an agreement with Nasheed for three people in the cabinet nominated from his party. "None of these things was honoured by Nasheed after elections. He drove everybody away. He wanted to strengthen only his own party and all political appointees were from his party," Waheed said. He said he had himself publicly opposed this and since then it had been a "difficult relationship". Talking about the future of his country, the President said "Maldives today is more democratic than it has ever been." He listed free society, expression of opinions, free media in Maldives among others as the reasons for the same. "This whole story is about democracy. It is not about me, it is not about Nasheed. It's about democracy in a small country that is 100 per cent Muslim. It is a very unique story". Asked about Nasheed's claim that there could be a defence tie-up with China, Waheed said no such agreement is under discussion. Speaking on Nasheed's allegations that fundamentalism was gaining ground in Maldives, the President said "Nasheed has been trying to scare India with China and fundamentalism". Waheed said "Maldives is a Muslim country. Most of our people have gone to liberal schools .... There is a whole range of views on Islam". He said Maldives has very good relationship with India and they share intelligence. Waheed said he would not be "terribly concerned" about the issue of fundamentalism in his country. Asked about the hardline Adhaalath Party being part of his government, Waheed said they were also part of Nasheed's cabinet. On ties with India, Waheed said "India is a strategic partner in the economic growth of Maldives". Asked about the safety of Indian investments, he said "Maldives offers great investment opportunities. We welcome Indian investments in areas such as housing, IT, knowledge processing, tourism and infrastructure, to name a few. Indian investments have always been safe and will continue to be safe in Maldives". Waheed thanked the Indian government for their understanding of the situation in his country while giving good strategic suggestions. He also underlined that Maldives is committed to democracy and that Maldivians are not willing to live in an autocratic and dictatorial environment. He also expressed his disappointment with the CommonWealth on the issue of the National Commission of Inquiry (NCI) but made it clear that he was not in the favour of leaving the 54-nation grouping. PTI Caption for pic: Maldives President Mohamed Waheed addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Monday. Maldives Foreign Minister, Abdul Samad Abdulla is also seen in the picture. PTI Photo