The members who left the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have applied to form a new party called The Democrats.
Former Chairperson of MDP Hassan Latheef handed over the application to Vice President of the Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) Ismail Habeeb in the presence of 12 parliamentarians as well as some local council members and mayors. Latheef said he will begin the process of forming the party as soon as he receives permission and that a candidate will be nominated to contest the upcoming presidential election.
The Political Parties Act stipulates that the ECM must make a decision on whether to grant permission to form a political party within seven days of the submission of the application. Habeeb said a decision will be made at a meeting on May 24.
On May 18, the President of MDP Mohamed Nasheed announced his decision to form a new political party. Nasheed, who is also the Speaker of Parliament, initiated a separate political movement within the party called Fikuregge Dhirun following his loss in the presidential primary held in January. In addition, the lawmakers from the faction tendered their resignation from MDP after Parliamentarian Ali Azim was expelled from the party and banned from rejoining for at least one year over his involvement in opposition political activities surrounding the Chagos Islands dispute.