Political party funds will be issued as per the law, the Elections Commission has said.

Speaking to RaajjeMV on Sunday, Commission member Ahmed Akram said that they have been holding a number of meetings with political parties, adding that the status of the funds has been discussed during these meetings.

While the Political Parties Act mandates issuing the state funds to parties with members over 10,000 within the first three months of the year, Akram noted that ‘as public holidays do not count, the three-month deadline is yet to expire’. The Act does not specify whether public holidays are counted or not.

“The political party funds will be issued within the stated period in the Political Parties Act,” he added.

While there are currently six political parties registered at the Commission, four have the required number of members. They are, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Jumhooree Party (JP) and Maldives Development Alliance (MDA). PPM currently has the highest number of members.

Last year, there was a huge delay in issuing the funds, with some parties protesting that the delay was hampering the party’s work.

The Political Parties Act requires 0.1 – 0.2 percent of the annual budget to be allocated to political parties.