MALE, September 20 (HNS) – Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has applied for registration with 3,600 signatures. Gayoom’s son Faris Maumoon, who was licensed to create the party, today handed over the members’ registration forms and their soft copies and ID card copies to Elections Commission. Senior officials of the commission were not present at the ceremony, which was attended by Gayoom’s sons Faris and Ghassan Maumoon, daughter Dhunya Maumoon, Galolhu-South MP Ahmed Mahloof, Vaikaradhoo MP Ali Arif, Villi-Maafannu MP Ahmed Nihan Hussein Manik and Fonadhoo MP Abdu Raheem Abdulla from PPM. Interim spokesperson Mahloof said yesterday that the forms submitted to the Elections Commission were only from Male. The commission granted the license on September 8 to create the party as the required 50 out of the 703 signatures submitted along with the application were found to be authentic. Mahloof said the delay in applying for the registration was because of the administrative matters that needed to be completed. At least 20 parliamentarians will join PPM, as the party was able to get the signatures of 14 MPs so far, he added.