MDP makes mocking statements saying smaller parties have been dissolved

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Parliament member and Ihavandhoo MP Ahmed Abdulla has made mocking statements saying that they have dissolved the smaller political parties (that there is nothing that anybody else could have done about the matter, and that it was accomplished as they willed).

Speaking at a MDP rally at Usfasgandu last night, MP Ahmed Abdulla, referred to the recently passed bill on political parties and said that “all small parties have been dissolved.”

The bill on political parties was first passed by the Parliament last December. Stating that the bills hinders the rights of the people, the President chose to send the bill back to the Parliament for reconsideration.

During the Parliament session held on 5th of this month, the Parliament again the passed the bill on political parties without any amendments, which would forces the President to ratify the bill.

When he sent the bill back to the Parliament for reconsideration, the President reasoned that as the bill stated that political parties with a membership count of below 10,000 will be automatically dissolved within three months of the bill's ratification, it would be an infringement to the rights to political participation of the people who belong to those parties.

Article 27 (b) of the bill on political parties states it mandatory for the Elections Commission to verify on a twice annual basis, if the existing parties have a minimum membership count of 10,000, and consequently notify the parties with membership below the mark of 10,000 that they are liable to dissolution. Article 19 of the bill states that such a party will be dissolved within 3 months of such notification, if it fails to bring its membership up to mark.

Following the bills approval from Parliament for a second time, the Elections Commission has stated that according to their interpretation of the bill, they foresee that a number of political parties face dissolution.

No party has taken the tone to imply that the purpose of the bill was to dissolve certain parties before the bill was passed. The statements by MP Ahmed Mohamed, a member of the Parliament Committee on Independent Institution that reviewed the bill, has cast new questions about the true intentions of the bill.

Latest statistics from the Elections Commission show that there are currently 5 parties with a membership count about 10,000 in the Maldives. They are; Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Dhivehi Rayyithinge Party (DRP), Jumhoory Party (JP), and Adhaalath Party (AP). Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) has also reached the 10,000 member mark and has submitted the membership forms to the Elections Commission.

Elections Commission has said that 11 political parties face dissolution upon ratification of the bill.