Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has granted former minister Abdulla Kamaluddeen permission to form a new political party.
ECM previously rejected his application due to his existing membership in the Maldives Reform Movement (MRM). However, ECM granted Kamaluddeen permission to form a new party on August 2 after he was dismissed from MRM.
Kamaluddeen, who was previously a senior member of the Jumhooree Party (JP), announced on July 11 that he was forming a new political party called National Solidarity Party. The new party aims to work towards a solution for long-standing issues in the country which the existing political ideologies in the Maldives have failed to resolve, he said.
Kamaluddeen is required to submit 3,000 membership signatures to the ECM within three months after receiving permission to form a new political party, according to the law on political parties.
Additionally, Parliamentarians Mohamed Nazim, Abdulla Riyaz, Mohamed Nasheed, Abdul Muhsin Hameed, and Ahmed Usham have also been given permission to form their own political party. There are currently 10 political parties registered in the Maldives. However, only the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), and JP have a membership of above 10,000.