The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has proposed an amendment to the law to allow political parties with fewer than 10,000 members to receive funding from the state budget.
The ECM has submitted these proposed changes to the Political Parties Act to the Attorney General's Office (AGO). The commission said that the amendments have been discussed with political parties since 2019. The ECM is recommending two key changes to the Political Parties Act. The amendments regarding the organization of party congresses and the other concerning party funding
Currently, only parties with 10,000 or more members are eligible for state funding. However, under the proposed amendment, the budget allocated to political parties would be divided into four parts: for all parties with at least 3,000 registered members, parties with 10,000 members, and based on the parties' performance in parliamentary and local island council elections. Specifically, 25% of the funds would be allocated to all registered parties, 25% to parties with 10,000 members or more, 30% based on parliamentary election results, and 20% based on local council election results.
The ECM convened a meeting with political parties on October 8 to discuss the proposed reforms. The representatives from the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Jumhooree Party (JP), the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), and the Maldives National Party (MNP) attended, contributing further suggestions for the amendments.