The Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) has decided to dissolve the Maldives Third-Way Democrats (MTD) after the party failed to meet the minimum membership required by law.
Announcing the decision, the ECM stated that MTD had not reached 3,000 members, as outlined under Article 30(a)(1) of the Political Parties Act, despite being given the opportunity to do so within a specified period. Therefore, the Commission has dissolved the party and removed it from the register of political parties.
The ECM said the notice issued to MTD expired on 19 May this year, by which the party had a total of 2,277 registered members. On the day the notice expired, MTD applied for an additional three months to increase its membership. However, the Constitution does not grant the Commission authority to approve such extensions, and the request was therefore declined, the ECM said.
The decision to dissolve the party was made on 3 June. The party was notified of the decision, and instructed to manage its assets and liabilities in accordance with the Political Parties Act within 30 days, and to report completion to the Commission within 15 days.
While the deadline was set for 3 September, the ECM has now confirmed that the party has been officially removed from the register of political parties.