Integration, independence referenda

Those people who are for Malta's accession to the European Union know very well what to do. They will be voting yes. However, those who are not are, in my opinion, in total disarray and do not exactly know how to proceed, whether to abstain from voting, invalidate their votes or simply vote no.

Now let us see what happened in the last referenda held in Malta, in 1956 and 1964.

The results were as follows:

Integration Independence referendum (1956) referendum (1964) Yes 67,607 65,714 No 20,177 54,919 Invalid votes (spoilt and blank) 2,599 9,061 Did not vote 62,480 33,094 Registered voters 152,803 162,743

In the case of the integration proposal, the Nationalist Party asked its adherents to boycott the referendum. In spite of this, the referendum was won by the Labour Party. But Britain did not honour it on the pretext that it was not clear. Had the Nationalists directed their supporters to vote no, the referendum would not have been won.

Regarding the independence referendum, the Labour Party directed its adherents to vote no. However, the minor political parties, led by Herbert Ganado, Toni Pellegrini and Mabel Strickland, asked their people either to abstain or invalidate their votes.

In spite of everything, the referendum was won by the Nationalists. Had all those who were not in favour of George Borg Olivier's independence voted no, the referendum would not have been won by the Nationalists.

Now it stands to reason that for those who do not agree with Malta's accession to the EU, the best way to proceed is to vote no. Abstaining from voting or invalidating the votes will serve no purpose except helping the pro-EU people have their way.

Anton F. Attard, Victoria.