The Elections Commission (EC), on Tuesday, approved the decision to grant funds to Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Jumhooree Party of the governing coalition, from the MVR 33 million allocated for political parties under the State Budget.
EC will forward the request to release funds to the Ministry of Finance.
Three parties with 10,000 or more members at the time the 2020 State Budget was passed are scheduled to receive state funds. In addition to coalition members MDP and JP, opposition aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) also fulfilled the membership criteria.
The election watchdog stated that the approval of PPM's funds was delayed due to the party's failure to submit its audit report.
EC member Ahmed Akram further added that PPM's funds would be released if the audit reports are submitted before March 31.
As per the Political Party Act, EC must transfer funds to all political parties with over 10,000 members during the first three months of the year. Funds are distributed at the rate of MVR 327.29 per member.
With a membership of 53,748, MDP will receive MVR 17,612,793 and JP, which has 12,000 members will receive MVR 3,974,249.
PPM has 36,064 members and will be granted MVR 11,814,609 from the state.
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