The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has revoked the permit issued to form a political party under the name of the Maldives Community Party.
The ECM granted the permission to form the party in November last year to an individual named Ali Ahmed. ECM said it has now cancelled the permit as the party failed to submit any membership forms within the period granted.
Under Maldivian law, a political party can be registered only when it secures at least 3,000 members and submits the membership forms to the Election Commission for official registration.
Currently, there are nine political parties in the Maldives. They are the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), People’s National Congress (PNC), Adhaalath Party, Jumhooree Party (JP), Maldives Thirdway Democrats (MTD), People’s National Front (PNF), Maldives National Party (MNP), Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) and The Democrats