The Maldives Labor and Social Democratic Party (MLSDP) and the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) have been removed from the register of political parties.
The DRP is the second political party to be registered in the Maldives. The party was formed by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
The Election Commission removed the two parties from the register of political parties after they failed to reach the minimum required number of members -- 3,000 members-- within three months.
The commission Wednesday said neither party had notified the commission the person responsible for the party's debt within the provided deadline. Therefore, the debt of the DRP and MLSDP will be liable to the person who was the party's head at the time of the debt in accordance with Article 29(b) of the Political Party Rules.
The removal of the two parties from the political party registry brings the total number of political parties in the Maldives to nine. They are the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Adhaalath Party (AP), Jumhooree Party (JP), Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), Maldives Thirdway Democrats (MTD), Peoples' National Congress (PNC), Maldives Reform Movement (MRM), and Maldives National Party (MNP).
