The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has approved the formation of The Democrats.
All members of ECM have agreed to allow the formation of The Democrats as it has obtained a minimum of 3,000 applications required to form a political party. As such, The Democrats has been granted permission to hold its inaugural meeting on July 2.
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. The Democrats stated that it is determined to expand its membership base and field a presidential candidate for the upcoming election.
The Maldives currently consists of 11 registered political parties with most parties inactive. The only parties which have more than 10,000 members are the MDP, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Jumhooree Party (JP), the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), the Maldives National Party (MNP), and Adhaalath Party (AP).