New EC portal allows voters to join or leave political parties directly

The Elections Commission has decided to introduce an online portal that will allow individuals to join a political party on their own initiative and to leave a party immediately if they choose to do so.

The commission said the decision follows repeated complaints that individuals have been registered as members of political parties without their knowledge. Such cases drew attention in recent years during membership drives by political parties, including the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), when reports emerged that a number of people had been added to party registers without consent.

The Elections Commission said it has been developing an online system to address the issue of unauthorised party registration.

Under the new arrangement, once an individual applies to join a political party through the commission’s main portal, the relevant party will have 30 days to record the membership in its own register. If the party does not process the application within that period, the individual will still be registered as a member of the party through the Elections Commission system.

The portal will also allow individuals to withdraw from a political party register immediately. If a member leaves a party or registers with another political party, the individual must submit a resignation through the system.

If a political party seeks to remove a member from its register, the party must submit a request for expulsion through the Simedha portal login provided to registered political parties, the commission said.