3,000 complaints over fake forms; MDP renews call for home minister’s dismissal

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said on Sunday that it has received complaints from over 3,000 people regarding being frequently admitted to the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC).

In a press conference hosted by the MDP’s legal committee on Sunday morning, committee member Ibrahim Shiyam said that the party has received complaints from over 3,000 people regarding fake membership forms to the PNC in their name.

According to Shiyam, this includes use of old national ID card photos, and forged signatures and fingerprints on the forms.

Shiyam accused the government of complicity in the fake form scandal, asserting that there’s evidence of misuse of state assets, resources and protected date in creating the fake forms.

“This is not some administrative error. This is not some administrative mistake or something unintentional. Based on the review of complaints, we found this was deliberate and planned, and done with the involvement of the PNC and government institutions,” he said.

Shiyam also questioned why the Prosecutor General Abbas Shareef or the Attorney General’s Office has not stepped in to intervene.

Committee member Aik Ahmed Easa said that the misuse of any state resource for a political activity is a clear act of corruption.

He said that the misuse of the Home Ministry’s resources for PNC’s forms need to be investigated by both the police and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Aik questioned the integrity of any criminal investigation into the case given that Home Minister Ali Ihusan himself, along with other senior Home Ministry officials are implicated in the case.

“Ihusan remaining the home minister casts questions over the integrity of the investigation. Therefore, in order to maintain integrity, we call President to remove Ali Ihusan from his role as home minister, even if its temporary,” he said.

He added that the MDP firmly believes Ihusan should either resign or get dismissed.

MDP’s lawmakers submitted a no-confidence motion against Ihusan with the Parliament last weekend over the case.