11 February 2012 Last updated at 12:14 ET Mr Nasheed has been calling for snap elections
Commonwealth officials are to hold an urgent meeting to discuss a stand-off in the Maldives between President Mohammed Waheed Hassan and his predecessor, who resigned on Tuesday.

A Commonwealth ministerial watchdog will convene within 24 hours. It has the power to suspend member states.

Ex-president Mohamed Nasheed says he has been forced out in a coup.

Mr Waheed denies this, saying he is ready to face an independent probe into the transfer of power.

"There are constitutional mechanisms to do that," the Associated Press quoted him as saying after a meeting with visiting US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake.

Mr Waheed earlier ruled out snap elections demanded by his predecessor.

Mr Blake said the US was seeking clarification on the transfer of power.

The US has corrected its position after saying on Thursday that it recognised the new government.

Protest rally Commonwealth officials said Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma had called for a teleconference of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, a group of nine foreign ministers from the 54-member bloc.

They will hold a teleconference "to review the circumstances pertaining to the transfer of power", Akbar Khan, who heads the bloc's delegation in the Maldives, told Reuters news agency.

The CMAG has the power to suspend member states if they violate democracy, voting against Fiji in 2006, and Pakistan in 1999 and 2007.

Mr Nasheed's resignation on Tuesday was followed by demonstrations and clashes in the Indian Ocean nation.

Meanwhile, UN Assistant Secretary General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco has been holding talks with both sides to try to find a way out of the impasse.

Mr Waheed said on Friday that the election campaign had already started for scheduled polls for the end of 2013.

The new leader also said Mr Nasheed had acted "like a dictator" and was now trying to stage a "show" for international media.

Mr Nasheed says he is no longer calling for his reinstatement as president, but wants snap elections to resolve the stand-off.

So far, there has been no sign of the new government trying to carry out a warrant it says it has issued for Mr Nasheed's arrest.

Mr Nasheed quit on Tuesday after police and soldiers joined opposition-led protests in Male.

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Article Source : BBC News

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