The Election Commission of Maldives (ECM) has officially approved the establishment of a new political party called the Justice and Development Party (JDP). The permission to form the party was granted to Mohamed Athif, M. Fehivina.
According to the Political Parties Act, ECM must make a decision regarding the approval of a political party within seven days of receiving the application. Additionally, a party is required to gather 3,000 signatures and submit them to ECM.
Meanwhile, ECM also granted permission to former members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to establish a new political party called The Democrats. They have successfully submitted 3,560 forms to register their party.
There are now a total of nine political parties listed on the official register.