The Ministry of Foreign affairs tweeted through its official account about the emergency.
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Official sources said the declaration of a state of emergency meant several provisions of the constitution would be suspended.
Attorney General Mohamed Anil announced the decision made by President Abdulla Yameen, who issued the executive decree based on advice from the National Security Council, Xinhua news agency reported.
Tensions are high on the Indian Ocean archipelago, known by many mainly for its relaxing beaches and resorts.
On Monday, the military said it found a homemade bomb in a parked vehicle close to the president’s official residence.
Maldives has been tense since a late-September blast on the president’s speedboat and a subsequent series of arrests, which included the country’s vice president, on suspicion of involvement in the explosion.
According to Ihsaan, a dynamite stick had been used as the primary explosive in the device which was created to be remotely detonated. President Yameen was not hurt, but the blast injured his wife and two other people.
President Yameen had denounced on Tuesday the alleged boat bombing as “an act of greed to attain power”.
The investigations were on to catch the culprits behind planting these explosives.
The FBI, which investigated at the Maldives’ request, has said it found no evidence a bomb had caused the boat explosion. He noted that Saudi Arabian and Sri Lankan investigators suspected a bomb.
The MDP rally in the capital Male is aimed at pressuring Yameen to release Nasheed, whose incarceration has been severely criticised by the United Nations and global rights groups.
Mr Nasheed is serving a 13-year prison sentence under a terrorism law for his role in arresting the judge.
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The president’s half-brother, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, endured a coup as president 27 years ago. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled Maldives from 1978 to until losing in the country’s first democratic election in 2008, survived the attempt.
