Complains over delays in reinstating PPM members admitted to other parties

Opposition Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) Secretary General Mohamed Tholaal has expressed discontent over delays in reinstating PPM members admitted to other political parties unknowingly back to the party’s membership.

Ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has urged members who have been removed from the party before registration to another political party to fill out complaint forms and reinstate their membership.

Commenting regarding the matter, Tholaal told Sun that it has been a year since more than 6,000 individuals registered to PPM who were removed from the party’s registry without notice have been requesting Elections Commission (EC) to reinstate their membership.

“To reinstate this party’s membership for our party members that were removed from the party’s registry, whether be it by submitting a complaint form. Nevertheless, this was not done all this time. But now that that MDP wants it, it has been done in a snap,” he had said.

Tholaal said that EC reasoned membership reinstating had not been carried out due to legal obstructions.

“Showing excuses for a year claiming legal obstructions to carry it out, but because MDP wants it today, just snap,” he had said.

EC has changed the policy on membership for political parties over the increase in cases of people being admitted to political parties without their knowledge via fake forms. In this regard, the commission now publicizes the names of people admitted to political parties, and informs them of the same via text message.