Election Commission of Maldives (ECM) has decided to release funds to Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) and Jumhooree Party (JP).
Vice President of ECM Ahmed Akram stated the commission only releases the funds once the parties submit the annual reports and audit reports, adding only MDP and JP has submitted all paperwork to the commission. However, a date has not yet been finalised to release the funds.
List of political parties in Maldives include Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Jumhooree Party (JP), Adhaalath Party (AP), Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP), People's National Congress (PNC), Maldives Labour and Social Democratic Party (MLSDP), Maldives Third-Way Democrats (MTD) and Maldives Reform Movement (MRM).
The Political Party Act states all parties must submit audit reports annually. However, ECM stated there is no proper system allocated in the commission to monitor the expenses of the political parties. In regards to this, Akram stated the commission plans to bring amendments to the Political Party Act to hand over audit reports of parties to the Auditor General's Office in order to monitor the expenses.
The act states funds allocated in the State Budget for political parties will only be released to parties with more than 10,000 registered members. However, only a few parties in Maldives have registered over 10,000 members.