Parliamentary Group Leader of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Ahmed Nihan has accused Transparency Maldives (TM) of being primarily motivated by financial gain.

Nihan’s accusation comes after the organization announced that it will be releasing a report of its observations of the Local Council Election. TM, who had observed 19 ballot boxes in 10 atolls, expressed its concerns regarding the election at a press conference on Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference later on Sunday, MP Nihan said that organizations like TM issue such reports in case they lose income from their international funders.

“Civil organizations will release such reports. Civil organizations also have to write reports, to see if they did any work. Some civil organizations are being funded in all sorts of ways by international backers” said Nihan.

He further said that if organizations such as TM do not release these reports “the help they get from international parties might diminish”.

“So, organizations such as TM have to release some sort of report. It is easier for the international backers to believe the report if it shows concern about the government,” he added.

The Local Council Election was held on May 6, around four months after the scheduled date. While both the ruling and opposition had described the election as one that will show the public's support for them, unofficial results show that the opposition is in the lead.