MP Ziyad unknowingly registered to PNC, MP status in question

Vaikaradhoo MP Hussain Ziyad, also known as Fitte, has been controversially registered from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to the ruling People's National Congress (PNC), without his knowledge.

Speaking to Mihaaru, MP Ziyad, who also serves as the Deputy Parliamentary Group Leader of MDP, said the discovery was made when they looked further into multiple reports of party switches in Vaikaradhoo, without the individuals' knowledge.

Ziyad firmly assured that he was unaware of his party status change.

He also disclosed that about 50 forms from Vaikaradhoo, including those of his campaign manager and several key campaign personnel, were submitted to the Election Commission (EC) simultaneously, resulting in all individuals being registered to PNC.

According to Fitte, he did not receive any notification, such as SMS messages, from EC regarding his party switch. Because of this, he suspects that an incorrect phone number was entered on the form.

According to the Maldivian Constitution, a parliament member would lose their seat if they change political parties or are expelled from their party. Expressing alarm over the implications, Ziyad said the matter has been officially raised with EC.

"If seats can be lost like this [unknowingly], so many seats could be [purposefully] lost with power. That’s what truly worries me," Ziyad said.

In light of this, he plans to retrieve the form submitted under his name from the EC and file a case with the police against those who signed it.

EC member Hassan Zakariyyaa confirmed to Mihaaru that the form was submitted by PNC.

Meanwhile, MDP's Deputy Chairman Ibrahim Waheed took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice concerns over the risk of MPs losing their seats due to party switches without their knowledge.

However, Ziyad is not new to the controversy of unknown party switches. There was a previous issue where he was allegedly registered with Maldives National Party (MNP) without his knowledge as well.

Such incidents are part of a growing trend, with EC reporting 300 cases of individuals being switched to different political parties without their consent over the past six months. The issue has gained prominence following a surge in PNC’s membership, which grew from 3,000 to 60,000 during a recent recruitment drive.