The Election Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has cleared itself of negligence in the membership list leak of The Democrats.
In a press release, ECM denied allegations of any involvement in the leaking of the membership list. The electoral emphasised that the list was not leaked by any of its members or employees and urged individuals to refrain from spreading baseless rumours that could undermine public trust in the electoral process. It also highlighted the importance of maintaining confidence in its operations as it prepares for the upcoming presidential election.
Supporters of Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed left the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and applied to form The Democrats in May and later submitted 3,560 applications to register the party. ECM has opened the forms for complaints and will take three weeks to complete the verification process.
On May 18, the President of MDP Nasheed announced his decision to form a new political party. Nasheed initiated a separate political movement within the party called Fikuregge Dhirun following his loss in the presidential primary 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.