Court ruling threatens to halve MDP’s membership and state funding
The civil court has ruled against an MDP petition that sought to overturn the retroactive application of a requirement for fingerprinted forms for political party membership, threatening to reduce the party’s membership and state funding by half
05 Oct 2016, 9:00 AM
The civil court has rejected a petition asking it to overturn an election commission order that requires the main opposition party to re-register nearly half of its 46,608 members.
The court ruled against the Maldivian Democratic Party on Tuesday, claiming the commission’s July 2014 decision asking political parties to re-register all members whose fingerprints are not on file cannot be annulled as it has since been passed into law.
The ruling is likely to take some 23,058 off the MDP’s registry, and may halve the annual grant it receives from the state budget.
The MDP was the first political party to register in 2005 and is now the biggest party in the Maldives.
Become a member
Get full access to our archive and personalise your experience.
Already a member?
Discussion
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!
No comments yet. Be the first to join the conversation!
Join the Conversation
Sign in to share your thoughts under an alias and take part in the discussion. Independent journalism thrives on open, respectful debate — your voice matters.
