The Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) has permitted Parliamentarian Abdulla Jabir to form the Green Party of Maldives (GPM).
ECM earlier revealed that Jabir had left Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) after resigning as its leader after the electoral body decided to dissolve the party as it failed to sign up 3,000 members required by law to be registered as a political party.
Speaking in Parliament, Jabirrevealed that ECM had given permission to form a new party, expressing hope to get the support of the public. The activities of the party will be environmentally friendly and will suit the environment of the Maldives, he added.
DRP filed its case to nullify the decision to dissolve the party at the High Court of the Maldives as a constitutional case. However, the High Court stated that the issue does not fall under its jurisdiction.
In December 2022, ECM ordered DRP not to conduct any political activities as efforts are ongoing to dissolve the party. ECM issued a written directive to the party not to conduct any political activities in the name of the DRP and to complete the dissolution procedure as per the law. ECM stated that the party had not reached the 3,000 members required to operate a political party before the three-month deadline.
DRP was one of the first parties to be registered in the country and was founded by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom. DRP split and members switched to other parties when the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) was formed due to differences of opinion in the party's leadership.