Yameen officially announced that the Maldives was in a state of emergency for the duration of 15 days starting on Monday night, Xinhua reported.
The announcement was read by Legal Affairs Minister Azima Shakoor on state television, flanked by Attorney General Mohamed Anil.
Several conditions were placed by the president which were based on the rights preserved for the head of the state under the Maldives Constitution.
Maldives has been facing days of unrest after the Supreme Court issued a ruling last week to release top opposition political leaders including former President Mohamed Nasheed and former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb.

The court said in a brief statement that they must be freed until fair trials could be conducted without undue influence.
The state of emergency gives security officials extra powers to arrest suspects, the BBC reported.
The government has already suspended Parliament and ordered the army to resist any moves by the Supreme Court to impeach the President.
Yameen had earlier on Monday written three letters to the Supreme Court explaining the challenges being faced in implementing the court order.