Elections Commission (EC)’s advisory committee has stated that a case filed by a member of the public regarding former President Abdulla Yameen’s new party, the People’s National Congress (PNC), cannot be investigated.

Committee member Mahfooz Saeed said that they have determined that PNC had used resources from the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and that senior members of PPM are involved in PNC activities.

However, Saeed said that they cannot investigate the matter as the new regulations prohibiting such conduct was introduced afterwards.

Saeed detailed that PPM’s building was used to establish the PNC and that PPM’s leadership was heavily involved in PNC activities but that the EC amended the regulations to prohibit such conduct after the PNC was given approval to hold its inaugural assembly.

Therefore, they cannot investigate a case regarding behavior that become illegal after it occurred, he said.

The amendments to the regulations on political parties include giving EC power to stop attempts to leave one party to form another, meaning that the EC is allowed to refuse to register a party if it is being formed with the resources and employees of an existing party, or if the formation of the new party would result in a loss of leadership for an existing party.