MDA requests committee to notify Elections Commission to confirm validity of membership forms

Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) has requested the Parliament Committee on Independent Institutions to notify the Elections Commission to expedite its work on confirming the validity of the membership forms submitted to the commission.

MDA filed this request to the committee on 20 March 2013. Sun Online has received a copy of the letter sent to the committee in this regard.

MDA noted in the letter that while efforts have been made to implement Article 8 (b) of the Political Party Bill which stipulates a minimum requirement for the number of members in a political party, it is the responsibility of the Elections Commission to confirm the validity of the membership forms that were submitted to the commission before the bill was ratified.

The two-page letter signed by MDA Interim Leader Ahmed Siyam Mohamed states that the Elections Commission, by not confirming the validity of the membership forms, has acted against the spirit of the Supreme Court order whereby it notified all authorities to refrain from taking any action to dissolve any political parties; and so requested the committee to investigate the matter and to notify the Elections Commission to expedite the work to confirm the validity of the forms submitted by MDA.

Spokesperson of MDA, Kudahuvadhoo MP Ahmed Amir told Sun Online today that considering the present situation faced by political parties, the Independent Institutions Committee has the authority to make a decision on this matter.

“The Independent Institutions Committee is the oversight body for all independent institutions. Earlier, problems were faced regarding acceptance of forms by Elections Commission due to the fingerprint issue. Political parties were deeply concerned over this issue. A decision was finally made by the Independent Institutions Committee, and Elections Commission followed that decision. Therefore given the current situation, MDA believes that it is within the authority of the committee to take the necessary action and notify the Elections Commission to ensure that political parties are not dissolved,” he said.

Amir also expressed concern over the fact that the Elections Commission has halted accepting new membership forms submitted by political parties. He said that while new requests are being made by people to join the party, the leaders of MDA are worried about requirements that may be introduced by the Elections Commission in relation to the design of the membership forms or when accepting membership forms as a result of the new law, which may cause further delays.

He said that the party had also requested the Elections Commission to speed up its work to confirm the validity of membership forms.

MDA had submitted over 10,000 membership forms to the Elections Commission before the Political Party Bill was passed, and over 12,000 forms before the bill was ratified by the president and published on the government gazette.