Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has announced Parliamentarian Ahmed Usham has been given permission to form a new political party. ECM stated Parliamentarian Usham was given permission on July 15 to form the Maldives National Party.
In a tweet, Usham said five members of parliament are involved in the formation of the new party. The parliamentarians are Mohamed Nazim, Mohamed Nasheed, Abdul Muhsin Hameed, and Abdulla Riyaz. Further, Nazim and Riyaz have resigned from Jumhooree Party as part of the efforts to form the Maldives National Party.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Home Affairs Abdulla Kamaluddeen is also working to form a new political party, called the National Solidarity Party. However, ECM rejected Kamaluddeen's application, due to his existing membership in the Maldives Reform Movement (MRM).
There are currently 10 political parties registered in the Maldives. However, only the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Jumhooree Party (JP) have a membership of above 10,000.