Some candidates in the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) internal elections have withdrawn their candidacies after allegations of meddling.

Candidates who spoke to Adhadhu on condition of anonymity said they were unhappy because the party had published the candidates' list without their names.

"I withdrew my candidacy because I felt unhappy with the way things were done. People who didn't even file candidacies were elected without voting," one person said.

Meanwhile, some other candidates have refused to withdraw their candidacies after the party ordered them to do so.

PNC members complained about many irregularities when the candidates' list for the internal elections was made public on November 13.

The names of some candidates were missing from the list while several candidates were listed in the wrong constituencies.

PNC cancelled the list after blaming the irregularities on administrative errors.

The ruling party's internal elections were originally scheduled for October 19. But the party claimed that candidates wanted to postpone the vote.

At the time, a new date was announced for November 9, but the election has been postponed for a third time to November 23.

During the primary for the parliamentary election earlier this year, some PNC members had complained about issues with the candidates list.

Several PNC members contested in the parliamentary election as independent candidates as they were not included in the candidates list of the party primary.

Addu Meedhoo MP Abdul Rahman was not given the party ticket. He decided to contest as an independent candidate and was elected to parliament.