Democrats go to police over members' fraudulent party transfer

Local opposition party The Democrats filed a cased with Maldives Police Service alleging that members were fraudulently removed from the party's registry, and instead registered to the ruling party People's National Congress (PNC).

The party said it had filed a complaint with the police to investigate the case and prosecute the perpetrators as per the country's penal code.

The Democrats also asked the Election Commission to restore the membership of its members who were removed from the party registry.

The party alleges that about 700 Democrats were fraudulently recruited to PNC.

Last Wednesday, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) also filed a complaint with the police alleging that several of its members had been admitted to PNC using fake forms without the members' knowledge. They also sought an order from the Prosecutor General's Office to have police ordered to investigate the matter.

PNC is currently under heavy scrutiny over the invalid forms and membership transfers. In a statement, PNC admitted that invalid forms had been submitted to the Elections Commission during its membership drive.

The Election Commission had earlier said that it had received 300 cases of fraudulent party membership changes in the past six months. The issues recently came to light after MDP MP Hussain Ziyad (Fitte) was fraudulently registered to PNC. The Elections Commission later voided the form.