The Elections Commission of Maldives has said that political party funds have been issued to those parties that have submitted their audit and yearly reports.

The Commission said that party funds were issued to three parties- Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Jumhooree Party (JP) and Maldives Development Alliance (MDA)- out of the four currently registered there, with the required quorum.

While funds were not issued to opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), according to EC, the party had failed to submit the required documents.

Maldives’ political parties act stipulates that the parties with more than 10,000 members are eligible for this allowance, and that these allowances have to be paid within the first three months of the year.

However, EC’s media official Ahmed Akram had, in April, said that the three-month deadline had not expired ‘as public holidays are not counted’.

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.