ECM to Transition to e-Faas Amid Rising Complaints of Fake Political Enrolments

The Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) has announced plans to amend policies to transition political party membership applications to the e-Faas system, following a surge in complaints about fraudulent enrolment using counterfeit forms.

ECM member Hassan Zakariyya revealed last Thursday that the Commission had received over 300 complaints from the public since the second quarter of last year regarding fraudulent party enrolments. These complaints have continued into the present month.

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Zakariyya noted that the issue was not confined to one specific party, with many political parties reportedly involved in the practice of enrolling individuals using fake forms. Some of the cases have been referred to the Maldives Police Service for further investigation.

The ECM is working to address the issue, with Zakariyya outlining plans to amend policies to move political party membership applications to the e-Faas system. While he acknowledged that amending laws and regulations is a lengthy process, he emphasised that the Commission was committed to resolving the matter as quickly as possible.

The issue of fraudulent enrolment had been highlighted some time ago, prompting the Commission to introduce measures to tackle it. In particular, the public can now verify their enrolment in any political party via SMS.

Meanwhile, the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) has faced accusations of using fraudulent forms to enrol members, as the party works to significantly increase its membership. The PNC aims to boost its numbers to 100,000, a sharp rise from just 3,000 when the current administration took office in November 2023.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has claimed that its members are being illegally enrolled in the PNC, though the ruling party has denied these allegations.

Among those who have spoken out is former Manadhoo MP Mohamed Thoriq, a long-standing MDP member, who has filed a police complaint alleging that he was fraudulently enrolled in the PNC without his consent.