(UTV|COLOMBO) – The Maldives’ attorney general has warned the country’s supreme court that a move to unseat the president would be unconstitutional, amid a political crisis that has left the government in chaos since late last week.
The attorney general, Mohamed Anil, said at a news conference that he had heard “rumours that the supreme court is going to order the impeachment” of president Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
He said that the president can be ousted only through a vote in parliament, and that police and security forces would not obey an impeachment order from an “illegitimate set of people”.
Mohammed Nasheed, the Indian Ocean archipelago’s exiled former president and Yameen’s main rival, responded angrily on Twitter, saying that comments from Anil and other officials were “tantamount to a coup”.
“Security services must uphold the constitution and serve the Maldivian people,” Nasheed tweeted. Under Maldivian law, a vote for impeachment removes a president from office.
The crisis, which has included repeated rounds of clashes between police and opposition protesters, began when the supreme court ruled on Thursday that all politicians opposed to Yameen, including Nasheed, be released.
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