Maldives National Front (PNF), led by President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, has requested the Election Commission (EC) to make it possible for it to contest the parliamentary elections.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of a senior PNF team with EC members at the commission on Monday, former Technology Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, a senior member of the PNF, said the party met the EC members for two main purposes.

Maleeh said holding Parliamentary elections during the Ramadan was not what all major parties wanted, and that it would reduce the number of people coming out to vote.

The assembly elections are scheduled to be held on March 17.

Maleeh said the registration of PNF was linked to Yameen's trial, but the party would contest most of the parliamentary seats.

"We want the Election Commission make arrangements PNF to contest in elections. There is no legal bar on that from our point of view. Having the party logo and the party's name is what we are asking for," Maleeh said.

Maleeh further said that the party will be given access to the EC's online portal to expedite the registration process of the PNF and that the EC has decided to give the right to form a political party even with the participation of multiple employees instead of a single employee.