Election Commission of Maldives has sent required documents to Ministry of Finance and Treasury to release funds for the political parties.
Elections Commission of Maldives revealed it has decided to fund political parties which meet the standards highlighted in the Political Party Act. Political parties must consist of at least 10,000 members to be eligible for state funding, according to the Political Party Act. The parties will receive funds from the state in accordance with the number of members.
While the government of Maldives has allocated over USD 1.5 million from the state budget for political parties, only four parties are eligible for the funds. In this regard, Progressive Party of Maldives, which has a membership of 45,865 will receive USD 743,855. Moreover, Maldivian Democratic Party, which has a membership of 29,759 will receive USD 485,122. Meanwhile, Jumhooree Party and Maldivian Democratic Alliance will each receive USD 168,175.
The Political Party Act states that each political party must submit an audit report approved by a state accredited audit office to Elections Commission and the Auditor General's Office in the first 90 days of every year to be eligible for state funding. However, State funding for Maldivian Democratic Party is suspended as it has not submitted the necessary documents, noted Elections Commission.