EC chief encourages business initiatives by political parties to raise money

Fuad Thaufeeq, the chairperson of Elections Commission (EC), said on Thursday that he supports and even encourages political parties to raise money by engaging in business activities.

 On Wednesday evening, the country’s main opposition, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) announced plans to venture into real estate in order to raise money for the party’s activities. The party’s chairperson, Fayyaz Ismail said that the party made the decision to gain financial independence.

Fuad told Sun on Thursday morning that the law allows political parties to engage in business activities. Fuad said that there’s no obstacle to political parties raising money through legitimate means, and that he in fact encourages such initiatives.

“…They have the right to engage in business activities for as long as it is not prohibited by law. I encourage initiatives by political parties to raise money or income,” he said.

Opening a national council meeting on Wednesday evening, Fayyaz said that while the Political Parties Act permits political parties to engage in business activities, it does not proper explicit guidelines on how such business activities may be conducted.

Fuad told Sun that though the law does not provide explicit instructions on how political parties may engage in business activities, it does permit it. He said that political parties may therefore engage in business activities for as long as it is now prohibited by a law and there is no conflict of interest.

Fuad said that the Elections Commission does not have a role in it, and encourages it.

Fayyaz said that the MDP needs a lot of funding to “move forward as a political party.” He said that the MDP has not implemented initiatives to boost income and become financially independent as it nears two decades since it registered as a political party.

The MDP has also announced plans to establish an academy to train young politicians and a think tank to advise the party’s leadership.