Decision made to dissolve The Democrats and MLSDP
The Elections Commission of Maldives has decided to dissolve The Democrats and the Maldives Labour and Social Democratic Party (MLSDP) for failing to maintain the legally required minimum of 3,000 members. According to official statistics, following the expiration of a three-month grace period to bolster recruitment, The Democrats recorded 1,569 members while the Labour Party had 1,357. Although the Labour Party was previously reinstated by a court order following a prior dissolution attempt, the Commission confirmed that the current decision to dissolve both parties follows the completion of all necessary legal procedures.
From the gathering of The Democrats. | The democrats party
The Elections Commission has decided to dissolve The Democrats and the Maldives Labour and Social Democratic Party (MLSDP) after both parties failed to maintain the minimum membership required by law.
The decision to remove these two parties from the official registry of political parties was made because they failed to meet the mandatory requirement of 3,000 members, despite being granted a specific period to reach that threshold.
According to statistics released by the Elections Commission, The Democrats currently have 1,569 registered members, while the Maldives Labour and Social Democratic Party has 1,357 members. Under the Political Parties Act, every political party is required to maintain a minimum of 3,000 members. Consequently, the Commission has issued a three-month notice to these parties to increase their membership to the legally required threshold.
The Democrats was founded by former President Mohamed Nasheed following internal disagreements within the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). While the party was officially registered in July 2023, President Nasheed and several high-ranking members have since rejoined the MDP.
The Maldives Labour and Social Democratic Party (MLSDP) was established in 2018 under an authorization granted to lawyer Abdulla Haseen. The party had previously faced dissolution in 2023 for failing to meet the minimum membership requirements. However, following a Civil Court ruling in October 2025 which declared that decision unlawful, the party was reinstated to the political party registry last November. Despite being granted a new grace period to increase its numbers, the party once again failed to reach the mandatory membership threshold. Consequently, the Elections Commission has now made the final decision to dissolve the party.
The Elections Commission stated that the decision to dissolve these two parties was made following the completion of all necessary legal procedures, under the authority granted to the Commission by the Political Parties Act. With this decision, the names of both parties will be formally removed from the national registry of political parties in the Maldives.
