People’s National Congress (PNC) has submitted 4,000 membership forms to register it as a political party. The forms were submitted to the Elections Commission of Maldives by Parliamentarian Abdul Raheem Abdulla, former Minister of Defence Adam Shareef Umar and former Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed, along with several high ranking officials who were previously active in Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).
Speaking to the press after submitting the forms to the Elections Commission, Abdul Raheem Abdulla, who had previously served as the vice president of PPM, said PNC has so far collected over 6,000 signatures, although 4,000 forms have been initially submitted. Abdul Raheem further said PNC would be led by former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, although he has not yet signed for the new party. He added PNC would be one of the strongest political movement in Maldives, upon its registration at the Elections Commission.
Former President Yameen is seeking to form another political party in the wake of the validity of the leadership of PPM being contested in courts of law. Yameen removed his half-brother and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom from the leadership before taking over PPM. Maumoon has regarded his removal as illegal and contested the decision in court.
Yameen has been pivotal in forming Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Peoples Alliance (PA), as well as PPM.