Less than half of the membership applications for former President Abdulla Yameen’s new party, the People’s National Congress (PNC), have been confirmed as valid.

RaajjeMV understands that the Elections Commission (EC) verified only 1,950 of the 4,000 membership applications.

A new party has to present 3,000 membership applications before it can be registered. Since PNC has failed to do so, the party has now handed over 1,100 more applications to the EC.

Regarding the issue, EC spokesperson Ahmed Akram told RaajjeMV that they have found discrepancies with the fingerprints and dates in the earlier applications.

Earlier, EC chief Ahmed Shareef said that they received complaints that PNC had forced people to join the party. However, Fonadhoo MP Abdul Raheem, who played a large role in forming PNC, has denied these claims.