The High Court has rejected an appeal filed by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to challenge an order by the Information Commissioner for the party to comply with the right to information law.
The appeal contended that the MDP and political parties do not fall under the definition of state institutions in the law. But the High Court's registrar rejected the case over the party's failure to make a legal argument or provide any details to back up the assertion.
Last year, a member of the public asked the MDP - which has about 50,000 members and receives annual funding from the state budget - whether it had formed a coalition agreement with the Adhaalath Party during the 2023 presidential election and to disclose details if such an agreement existed.
Information was also sought about the party’s rules or criteria for accepting coalition proposals from other parties if such rules were in place.
When the party refused to comply with the request for information within the period stipulated in the law, the Information Commissioner’s Office of Maldives (ICOM) looked into the case and ordered the MDP to provide the information in October 2023. The commissioner also informed the party that it was subject to the law.
At an ICOM hearing on the case, MDP lawyer Ahmed Abdulla Afeef said the party believes that political parties do not fall under the definition of state institutions in the law. Therefore, if ICOM decides that MDP falls under the law, the party would appeal at the High Court, he said.
The political parties law requires state funding to be provided to parties that have more than 10,000 members. The funding is provided at a rate based on the number of members from an allocation of 0.1 to 0.2 percent of the total state budget.
Since the provision was made in the political parties law in 2015, the MDP received funds from the state budget every year. Last year, MVR 15.1 million was disbursed to the MDP and the party also collected more than MVR 10 million a year in each of the preceding years.
