The Commonwealth Secretariat has said “stakeholders within Maldives themselves need to resolve” the country’s political crisis.

“We recognize that this is a situation which the stakeholders within Maldives themselves need to resolve and hope for an early resolution,” Commonwealth Secretariat Spokesperson Eduardo del Buey told the Asian Tribune.

Buey also cited to the resignation of the cabinet which was later reinstated and also the arrest of senior opposition politicians.

He said “the Secretary-General has been in touch with the President of Maldives about these developments.”

The Maldivian Democratic Party and opposition parties in Parliament are at loggerheads. The ruling party accuses the opposition bloc of trying to encroach into powers vested with the executive.

Of late, the opposition dominant Parliament has been passing bills subjecting key government decisions to parliamentary approval, midst motions of no confidence against some ministers.

The June 29 mass resignation of the Maldives cabinet was a move to protest Parliament which was followed by the arrest of opposition parliamentarians.

On Thursday, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim was arrested, after a nearly 12 hour long siege. The government is now set to file a case in the Supreme Court against opposition parliamentarians over a host of allegations such as vote buying, delaying bills purposely and intimidating independent commissions.

The deadlock also saw US Ambassador Patricia Butenis and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa mediating, in separate meetings, bringing key political parties in the Maldives to a negotiating table, in a bid to resolve the crisis.

Tensions however still run high in the Maldives midst street protest by political parties.
The Commonwealth also said that it hoped “all concerned will show restraint, maintain peace and order and abide by the rule of law."