The Maldives’ Attorney General (AG) on Sunday warned the country’s Supreme Court against its ‘unconstitutional’ move to unseat the president.
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, according to AP, that only parliamentary vote can oust the president 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 political crisis, which has included repeated rounds of clashes between police and opposition protesters, began when the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that that all politicians opposed to Yameen, including Nasheed, be released.
As of Sunday, no prisoners had been released. The government said it had been advised by the chief justice to follow due process in releasing the prisoners.