The Maldives is in crisis and democracy is in suspended animation. There has been a distinct souring of relations between India and the Indian Ocean archipelago over the extension of the emergency. Theoretically, this may be the prerogative of the beleaguered government in Male, helmed by President Abdullah Yameen. But Friday’s “warning” to Delhi against “any actions” that could hinder resolving the political crisis has somewhat deliberately accorded short shrift to the bold assertion of the country’s Prosecutor-General that the extension has been “unconstitutional”. It undoubtedly has. Not the least because it flies in the face of legislative certitudes; the 30-day extension has been approved without the constitutionally required quorum of 43 legislators. Whether or not Delhi intervenes, as it did in the case of a constitutional imbroglio in Nepal in 2015, the fact of the matter must be that the uncertainty that plagues the administration in Male has deepened over the past few days.

The Maldives has reportedly taken umbrage to the fact that the unconstitutional extension of the emergency has “dismayed” India. And the provocation can only be speculated upon, specifically whether the feathers of President Yameen’s government have been ruffled by the photograph of defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman meeting exiled Opposition leader and former President, Mohamed Nasheed. The Majlis in the Maldives rushed through the extension last Tuesday ~ when the 15-day emergency was scheduled to lapse ~ hours after India had cautioned the government against the move. In consequence, the restoration of the political process in the archipelago is bound to get delayed further still, not to forget the suspension of democratic institutions, pre-eminently the judiciary.

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It is pretty obvious that President Yameen has buttressed his agenda by ignoring the Constitution of Maldives. And this precisely has made the waters murkier over the past four days when the effort ought to have been to ensure that democratic institutions are allowed to function in a fair and transparent manner… concordant with the certitudes of the Constitution. It is Maldives’ tragedy that both democracy and the Constitution are now at stake. Its government’s claim that “the state of emergency will be lifted as soon as the threats posed to national security are addressed satisfactorily” is the standard response of the establishment to any drastic measure of state control.

For now, President Yameen has stared down, a reaction that appears to have prompted Begum Hasina to remark that India ought to maintain cordial relations with its neighbours. Under the emergency, the administration has arrested the Chief Justice, another Supreme Court judge, and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom on allegations of attempting to overthrow the government. The judiciary has been crippled to say the least, and this is symptomatic of the overwhelming crisis of democracy.