Party unable to check membership forms' validity; EC responsible: PNC

Ruling Progressive National Congress (PNC) on Tuesday addressed allegations of submitting fraudulent or forged membership forms during its membership drive, stating that verifying the authenticity of membership forms falls under the responsibility of the Elections Commission (EC).

The party clarified that it lacks the capacity to independently confirm the validity of forms submitted by individuals.

The PNC had been accused of unknowingly recruiting individuals through forged forms in an effort to reach 75,000 members before the government completed its first year in office. More than two weeks after these allegations surfaced, the PNC issued a statement confirming that it is investigating the matter internally.

According to the PNC, the membership drive involved “thousands of forms” submitted by party activists and supporters to the EC. The statement emphasised that this effort was one of the largest political membership drives in the Maldives.

The party explained that while forms were submitted through the EC’s portal, the inability to verify their authenticity prior to submission has been a long-standing issue for all political parties in the country.

The EC has reportedly referred the matter to the police for investigation. In response, the PNC stated that it had also filed complaints with both the EC and the police and would fully cooperate with ongoing investigations.

The PNC’s statement highlighted:

The PNC called on anyone who may have submitted invalid membership forms to report them to the party via its official email address ([email protected]). The party assured that it would take necessary steps to address the matter.

The issue gained further attention after it was revealed that some individuals allegedly smuggled into the PNC included MDP MP Hussain Ziyad and members of the MDP National Assembly. The MDP has claimed that the PNC resorted to submitting fake forms due to a lack of public support for the party.