The Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) has announced a major procedural change that will allow individuals to withdraw from political parties immediately through the commission’s online portal starting 1 January 2025.

This marks a shift from the current system, under which the ECM takes up to 14 days to remove a member from the party register after receiving a withdrawal request.

Explaining the change, ECM Vice President Abdul Rahman Solah Rasheed said general members will be able to exit a party as soon as they submit the request online.

However, Solah clarified that immediate withdrawal will not apply to sitting Members of Parliament or individuals holding positions within a party. Although their withdrawal requests will still be submitted through the portal, these cases will require a set processing period due to the legal consequences attached to their membership. Under the Constitution, MPs lose their seats if they leave or switch the party from which they were elected, and a recent amendment extends the same rule to councillors.

Solah added that the ECM also aims to make party membership applications instantaneous. At present, it takes approximately three days to process applications to join political parties, but the commission believes the process can be made immediate since identity verification is already completed through eFaas when the application is submitted.