Maldives opposition party threatens to boycott presidential election

Maldives main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) spokesman and ex-foreign minister Ahmed Naseem, , center, along with Ahmed Maumoom, right, chief of staff of former president Mohammad Nasheed, and former transport minister Adil Saleem leave after a media briefing in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. The MDP threatened to boycott the presidential elections scheduled this year unless it is held under a transitional government. Former President and MDP leader Mohamed Nasheed is taking refuge at the Indian embassy for the past week while the court had ordered police to arrest him for not appearing to face charges that he illegally ordered the arrest of a senior judge while in power last year. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) (The Associated Press)

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Maldives main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) spokesman and ex-foreign minister Ahmed Naseem addresses the media in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. The MDP threatened to boycott the presidential elections scheduled this year unless it is held under a transitional government. Former President and MDP leader Mohamed Nasheed is taking refuge at the Indian embassy for the past week while the court had ordered police to arrest him for not appearing to face charges that he illegally ordered the arrest of a senior judge while in power last year. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) (The Associated Press)

In this Monday, Feb. 18, 2013 photo, supporters of former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed gather outside the Indian High Commission where Nasheed has taken refuge to evade arrest in Male, Maldives. A court issued a second arrest warrant for Nasheed to face charges he illegally ordered the detention of a senior judge while president, police spokesman Hasan Haneef said Monday. The judge's detention led to Nasheed's ouster from power last year. (AP Photo/Ahmed Mujthaba) (The Associated Press)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Maldives' main opposition party will boycott a presidential election scheduled in September unless it is held under a transitional government, a party spokesman said Tuesday.

Ahmed Naseem, a former foreign minister and a spokesman for the Maldivian Democratic Party, said the party doesn't trust President Mohammed Waheed Hassan to hold a fair election. He said the party wants a transitional government led by the speaker of Parliament for two months as allowed under the constitution of the Indian Ocean nation.

"An interim government and then elections. Nothing else. If these arrangements are not made, the MDP will not participate in the election," Naseem told reporters in Colombo in neighboring Sri Lanka. Maldives is scheduled to hold its second multiparty presidential election on Sept. 7.

The country's former president, MDP leader Mohamed Nasheed, has taken refuge in the Indian embassy since last Wednesday, when a court ordered his arrest for not appearing to face charges that he illegally ordered the arrest of a senior judge while president.

Nasheed says the charges are politically motivated to disqualify him from running in the presidential election.

Nasheed became the Maldives' first democratically elected president in 2008, ending a 30-year autocracy. He resigned as president last year after losing the support of the military and police during weeks of public protests over the judge's detention. His deputy, Hassan, succeeded him.

An inquiry commission last year dismissed Nasheed's claim that he was ousted in a coup.

Maldives police said they have asked for help from the Foreign Ministry in arresting Nasheed from the embassy.

The Indian government has said it will deal with Nasheed on a day-to-day basis.