MALE, Maldives (AP) — The new president of the Maldives is expanding his Cabinet to strengthen the coalition government ruling the Indian Ocean nation.
A presidential spokesman says six members from four political parties will be sworn in Sunday as ministers in the government led by President Mohammed Waheed Hassan.
Former president Mohamed Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party, however, has not responded to an invitation to join the Cabinet.
The Maldives has been rocked by political turmoil for nearly a week, since Nasheed resigned and was replaced by his vice president. Nasheed claims he was ousted in a coup, a charge the new president denies.
A senior U.S. diplomat who met with Maldivian leaders on Saturday said the Maldives wasn’t ready for early elections as a way out of its political crisis.
