MDP seeks police update into PNC membership fraud probe

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has headed to the Maldives Police Service (MPS) headquarters to seek an update on the progress of the investigation into the case of stealing personal information form the Department of National Registration (DNR) to increase the membership count of the main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC).

Members of the main opposition party’s legal team went to the police headquarters on Wednesday morning.

MDP has submitted a request to the police to investigate the case of filling out fake forms to increase PNC membership by using personal information from the DNR database.

Some general members of the MDP also went to the police headquarters along with the legal team.

While many people have been expressing concerns on social media about being added to the ruling party without their knowledge, photos taken during the process of filling out PNC membership forms within the DNR have been leaked on social media.

The photos show that Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusaan was also present while the fraudulent forms were being filled.

MDP's legal team at the police headquarters - Photo by RaajjeMV

At a time the issue had boiled over, journalists were invited to the DNR on Tuesday to show them the “operations of the place”. Journalists confronted DNR officials, swamping them with questions about the form-filling issue inside DNR.

Although they attempted to avoid answering many of the journalists' questions and attempted to mislead, it has been confirmed from their statements that the leaked photos show the DNR's meeting room.

As the largest opposition party in the Maldives, MDP has also submitted requests to investigate the scandal to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in addition to the police institution.

There have been calls on social media for the home minister's resignation for misusing state resources and attempting to gain unfair advantages.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu earlier stated that he would take immediate action if corruption cases were brought to him with evidence.

However, he has not taken any action regarding the most serious incident of personal information theft in the country's history, nor has he made any statements about it so far.

While it has been revealed that other parties have filled out forms to add large numbers of people to President Muizzu's party, it has also come to light that forms have been submitted on behalf of people who have never filled out forms to join a political party.