4 political parties to receive state funding in 2026

Four political parties will receive state funding from next year’s budget, the Elections Commission (EC) said on Saturday.

Under the Political Parties Act, parties with at least 10,000 members must be funded from the state budget, with 0.1 per cent of the budget allocated among eligible parties.

Nine political parties are currently registered in the Maldives.

According to the list released by the EC, four parties met the membership threshold on the date the 2026 budget was passed by Parliament. They are:

Although the MDA now has 9,011 members according to the EC’s website, the Commission said the party qualified because it had 10,000 members on the day Parliament approved the budget.

This year, MVR 28 million was allocated to five political parties. The Adhaalath Party, which received funding this year, will not receive funding next year as it currently has 8,844 members, which is below the threshold.

The PNC received the highest amount this year, at MVR 13.3 million.