Elections Commission (EC) has fined three political parties MVR 50,000 each for failing to submit their annual financial audit reports within the designated deadline.
EC member Hassan Zakariyya confirmed to Adhadhu that the fines were imposed on the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the Maldives National Party (MNP), and the Adhaalath Party (AP).
Zakariyya noted that while MDP submitted its audit report after the deadline, MNP and Adhaalath Party have yet to submit theirs.
The deadline set by the commission for political parties to submit their previous year’s audit reports was May 20. Only four parties submitted their financial reports on time: Jumhooree Party (JP), Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), People's National Congress (PNC), and People's National Front (PNF).
According to audit reports published by the EC, the country’s two largest political parties, MDP and PNC, recorded the highest expenditures last year.
MDP received a total revenue of MVR 9.5 million last year. The majority came from the EC’s state fund allocation of MVR 8.4 million, supplemented by MVR 1 million in individual donations and MVR 57,095 from private corporate contributions.
Out of its total revenue, MDP spent MVR 8.3 million, with the largest share allocated to staff salaries and allowances (MVR 3.1 million) and rent (MVR 1.5 million).
Meanwhile, the ruling PNC generated MVR 14.1 million in total revenue last year. This included MVR 13.3 million provided by the EC and MVR 842,000 in private donations.
The PNC spent MVR 9.1 million of its income, with MVR 8.8 million utilized for administrative costs and MVR 376,062 spent on party promotion. The ruling party's largest single expense was rent, totaling MVR 3.1 million, while employee salaries accounted for MVR 2.3 million.
