Five hundred people have applied to leave the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) following former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s decision to create a new party, the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).
Haveeru reported DRP spokesperson Ali Solih as confirming that 480 people had left the party out of 37,800 registered members.
“Several forms submitted to resign from the party are invalid, including the forms submitted by those actively involved in creating the new party. Their signatures are missing,” he told Haveeru.
The departures were “not a big deal”, he remarked.
The Elections Commission has meanwhile granted the PPM a license to create a party after finding that the required 50 out of 703 signatures submitted were authentic. The PPM is now required to gain 3000 signatures of members to register as a party within nine months, and hold a meeting of 300 people to outline the party’s charter and manifesto.
