The commission recently introduced the ninth amendment to its regulations governing political parties, aiming to simplify the procedure for members who wish to remove themselves from a party's registry.
Edition Mv
Many citizens in the Maldives find themselves unknowingly registered under a political party, sometimes for years, without their awareness. This situation is often due to default registrations or past affiliations, with individuals remaining registered even if their political stance has changed. The process to deregister has traditionally been complex and time-consuming, leading many to simply avoid dealing with the bureaucratic hassle.
Recognizing this issue, the Election Commission (EC) of the Maldives has taken steps to streamline the process of leaving a political party. The commission recently introduced the ninth amendment to its regulations governing political parties, aiming to simplify the procedure for members who wish to remove themselves from a party's registry.
Under this amendment, once a person submits a request to leave a political party, the party in question must remove them from its membership within 14 days. If the party fails to comply within this timeframe, the individual can lodge a complaint with the EC. The commission is then responsible for removing the individual from the party’s registry. This change is intended to reduce delays and prevent individuals from being kept on party lists against their will.
The updated regulations also address a common issue involving members who join a new political party without officially resigning from their previous one. This is an issue that has been raised time and time again, as members of political parties tend to switch their support, especially near the election period. This issue has been a well-known trend in the Maldives, not only with citizens who affiliate with specific parties and switch their support for certain benefits, but this issue is also becoming an increasing problem with political leaders of parties. As a way of resolving this issue, the new rule stipulates that if someone joins a new party without properly notifying their former party, they will be automatically expelled from the new party and re-registered with the one they initially left. With this provision, the EC can prevent confusion and unauthorized switches between political parties, ensuring that the registration process remains clear and properly managed.
Doubling down on its efforts to ensure that members do not continue to switch between political parties, the new amendment also introduced a formal requirement for individuals seeking deregistration. This means that any member who is seeking to initiate the process of expulsion from a political party must now submit a special form to the EC. This adds a clear procedural step to streamline deregistration and ensure that requests are processed efficiently.
These amendments are part of the EC's broader effort to ensure that political party membership remains a matter of personal choice, free from unwanted or uninformed registrations, and to uphold the integrity of the country's political system.
