The country has been in tumult since Feb. 7, when Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected president, stepped down in disputed circumstances.
No date was set for the new election, but representatives of Mr. Nasheed and the current president, Mohammad Waheed Hassan, said that the voting could take place in a few months, rather than in October 2013 as originally scheduled. The Parliament would have to change the Constitution to make the early election possible.
If the agreement holds— Mr. Nasheed did not publicly affirm the deal late Thursday night — it could defuse tensions in the Maldives, a country of 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean that is best known for its luxurious beach resorts.
Mr. Nasheed, a charismatic figure who became a leading voice on global climate change, has said that his departure from office was effectively a coup by the security forces. By contrast, Mr. Hassan and other political leaders said Mr. Nasheed’s resignation was voluntary, prompted by street protests against him.
His exit led to a tense standoff, with Mr. Nasheed’s supporters clashing with the police. Mr. Hassan called on Mr. Nasheed and his party to join a unity government, while Mr. Nasheed demanded early elections instead.
Diplomats from the United States, Britain and the United Nations tried to broker a compromise but achieved little, while India, the Maldives’ nearest neighbor, drew criticism for its initial reaction to the situation, which was to quickly recognize the new president but otherwise to hang back from events.
After the Indian foreign secretary, Ranjan Mathai, flew to Male, the capital, on Wednesday, the two camps negotiated late into the night to reach a deal. “This is an opportunity for us to regain the respect of the international community, but most importantly continue to build a safe, democratic and prosperous Maldives for all our people,” Mr. Hassan said in a statement accompanying the three-page agreement.
Masood Imad, a spokesman for Mr. Hassan, said the government would now seek the agreement of other political parties and try to line up the two-thirds majority needed in Parliament to amend the Constitution for an early election. If the amendment passes and the country is calm and peaceful, Mr. Imad said, the election could be held fairly quickly.
“If it’s tomorrow, so be it,” Mr. Imad said by telephone from Male. “It’s difficult, though, to pass the bill through Parliament.”
Mr. Nasheed was scheduled to hold a news conference Thursday evening, but it was postponed. His brother and adviser, Ibrahim Nashid, said the agreement called for an election schedule to be decided by March 1. Mr. Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party hopes for an election date as soon as August. But Mr. Nashid added that the party would still not join Mr. Hassan’s government.
“This is very much an Indian intervention,” Mr. Nashid said in a telephone interview, adding that Mr. Mathai, the Indian envoy, “said he would not leave without arranging it.”
A career diplomat who became foreign secretary in August, Mr. Mathai led the negotiations between Mr. Hassan and a representative of Mr. Nasheed, and then met separately with Mr. Nasheed. He said Mr. Nasheed’s party would reconsider its plans for a big rally in Male on Friday.
