anti-government protesters and use force against the public. Police came out to protest against unlawful orders given to them. Amid the chaos the President resigned in front of the media after submitting a hand written resignation letter to the Majlis, as stipulated in the constitution. Following the forced resignation on 7 February 2012, Nasheed immediately informed the international community of the events surrounding his ousting and asked for early elections to preserve the country's fledgling democratic system. On 23 February 2012, the Commonwealth suspended the Maldives from its democracy and human rights watchdog while the ousting was being investigated, and backed Nasheed's call for elections before the end of 2012.
President Mohamed Nasheed resigned on 7 February 2012. Nasheed described his ousting as a coup at gunpoint. Nasheed's vice president, Mohammed Waheed Hassan, was sworn in as president at the Peoples majlis in front of the Chief Justice.
Though in March 2012 the new regime promised new elections; in April the state minister of foreign affairs announced that elections would not be held in the near future
