MALE, Maldives, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- The timing isn't right for a divided island nation of Maldives to have fair elections, the country's new president said Friday.
Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed was ousted in an apparent coup this week. He called for a new round of elections during a Friday rally in the capital Male.
President Mohammed Waheed told the BBC, however, that the country wasn't ready for elections.
"This is not an environment in which you can have free and fair election," he said. "I think what is really important now is to calm down, make things settle down. And I have to demonstrate that we uphold the constitution and the rule of law."
He added the country was divided along political lines, noting his predecessor was "agitating'" but free to "move around wherever he wants to."
U.N. officials called on all sides to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. The BBC reported no major violence in the island nation Friday.
The Maldivian government had issued an arrest warrant for Nasheed, who was bloodied during scuffles this week. The BBC said there's been no serious attempt to formally detain the ousted leader, however.
