Govt seeks to put MVR10 mln cap on political party funds

Maldives government is seeking to put a MVR 10 million cap on the funds allocated to political parties from the State Budget.

The current Political Parties Act stipulates the state to set aside an amount between 0.1 to 0.2 percent of the state budget for political parties. However the legislation does not specify a maximum limit.

Pro-government lawmaker of Gemanafushi Constituency, Jameel Usman, submitted a bill to amend the Act such that political parties receive 0.5 percent of the state's estimated revenue from taxes. However, the amendment states that the amount cannot surpass MVR 10 million.

The first reading of the bill took place during the parliamentary sitting on Wednesday.

Currently MVR 24 million has been allocated from the budget for political parties. The funds are granted only to parties with membership surpassing 10,000, according to the number of its registered members.

The final allocations by the Elections Commission are MVR 11 million to the largest party, ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), followed by MVR 7.5 million to main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). The funds are issued upon submission of the parties' audit reports as per the law.