MDP amends branch rules to allow non-residents in constituency branches

The National Council of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has approved amendments to the party's branch regulations, allowing constituency branches to include members who do not reside in the constituency.

The amendments were passed during the National Council meeting on Sunday night after being proposed by party Chairperson and former President Mohamed Nasheed.

The changes were drafted by the MDP's Roadmap Committee, which was established during the tenure of former party chairperson Fayyaz Ismail.

Presenting the proposals, Fayyaz, who chairs the Roadmap Committee, said constituency branches will now be permitted to include members living outside the constituency, provided they account for no more than 30 per cent of the branch's total membership.

Previously, constituency branches could only be formed by members registered as residents of the relevant constituency.

The amendment retains the requirement for at least 50 signatures to establish a constituency branch.

However, the threshold to establish an ideological branch (fikhuree gofi) has been increased from 50 to 100 members.

Fayyaz said the changes were intended to enable greater participation by party members, particularly those who have lived in Malé for many years but remain registered in their home islands.

"This is aimed at involving as many people as possible. Particularly in Malé, there are many party members who have spent their entire lives living here without being on the official Malé registry. There needs to be a mechanism for them to join a local branch and participate in Malé campaign activities," he said.

The amendments were approved with 53 votes in favour. Sixty-three National Council members attended the meeting.

During the debate, former State Minister Hussain Ismail proposed amendments to retain the existing constituency branch rules. He also proposed dissolving all existing branches and requiring them to be re-established under the revised framework.

None of his proposed amendments were approved.

The changes were adopted shortly after the National Council voted to hold the party's extraordinary congress on 19 September. Branch presidents serve as voting delegates at the congress.

According to reports, the Nasheed-Fayyaz faction intends to present a series of constitutional and governance reforms at the congress, including changes to the structure of the National Council.

The proposals are also expected to include a new governance model separating the roles of Head of State and Head of Government.

Under the proposed system, the Head of Government would be directly elected by the public and remain accountable to Parliament, while the Head of State would be elected by a majority of elected representatives, including members of Parliament and local councils.

Nasheed and Fayyaz have previously expressed support for the proposed model and indicated their interest in the offices of Head of State and Head of Government, respectively.