Minister Ihusan denies claims of underage party recruitment

Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, Ali Ihusan, has denied allegations that he is attempting to recruit individuals under the age of 18 into a political party by collecting their personal information.

The accusation was made by Ibrahim Waheed (Iburey), Deputy Chairperson of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). In a post on X, Ibrahim said that personal data of individuals nearing the age of 18 is being collected from the Department of National Registration (DNR) and that documents are being prepared at the People’s National Congress (PNC) office for submission to the Elections Commission (EC) once these individuals turn 18. He further alleged that this is being overseen by Minister Ihusan.