The Election Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has granted permission to form a new political party called the Justice and Development Party (JDP). The permission to form the party was granted to Mohamed Athif.
ECM must make a decision regarding the approval of a political party within seven days of receiving the application, According to the Political Parties Act. Additionally, a party is required to gather 3,000 signatures and submit them to ECM.
Meanwhile, ECM also granted permission to former members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to establish a new political party called The Democrats. They have submitted 3,560 forms to register their party.
There are now a total of nine political parties listed on the official register.