Diary of the referendum campaign

January 29: Months of speculation surrounding the referendum date is ended by Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami. He holds a televised press conference to inform the nation that the first referendum since 1964 would be held on March 8, the same day as the local council elections. Labour leader Alfred Sant, who opened the MLP general conference on the same evening, says the party was "ready and geared up for the referendum".

January 30: Support for the membership cause gets off with a bang the following day, when, during a conference organised by the Malta-EU Information Centre, European Commission president Romano Prodi says during a live video link that any form of "partnership" would be a far cry from the benefits of membership. Deputy leader Joe Brincat is firing shots of his own on the second day of the MLP general conference at German Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen: "We will have to remove the George Cross if we join the EU, as we won it fighting against Verheugen's father and grandfather." Just 35 days of intelligent and informed debate to go.

January 31: The Archbishop's Curia issues a directive to clergy not to comment on the referendum. Whether anyone noticed any difference is another matter.

February 2: MLP decides it will not boycott the referendum, as had been widely rumoured, and issued a directive to members to vote no, invalidate their vote or not vote. The Nationalist Party holds its first mass meeting on the Granaries, in Floriana where Dr Fenech Adami appeals for people to consider the EU as a national rather than partisan issue. He was to repeat this once, twice or a million times during the campaign.

February 3: The Maltese bishops appeal for calm and prudence after a crew from Super 1 television is attacked during a PN mass meeting. Fortunately, it was the only incident of its kind during the campaign.

February 4: Hotel operators express overwhelming support for membership in a survey. Dr Sant urges voters to write Viva Malta on their referendum ballot paper while the prime minister predicts an MLP U-turn on the EU if the referendum is positive.

February 6: Labour tourism spokesman Karmenu Vella denies any conflict of interest between his political role and his involvement as chairman of one of the leading hotel chains.

February 8: Dr Sant claims the referendum is unfair because the yes campaign is being funded by the state and the EU while the other side depends on people's generosity.

February 9: Two men with links to the General Workers' Union speak out in favour of membership at a PN mass meeting in Sliema. Dr Sant says at an MLP mass meeting in Birkirkara that his party does not believe in the bogus referendum. The Labour leader repeats the names of companies he says would be adversely affected by membership.

February 12: It emerges that Rotos Zirayia, a firm listed by Dr Sant, has actually already closed down. The comment becomes the number one contender for biggest gaffe of the campaign.

February 13: Ex-Labour minister Lino Spiteri declares himself in favour of membership. Meanwhile, Mr Prodi reiterates that there is no alternative to membership that would bring the same conditions in comments to The Times.

February 16: Former Labour MP Rokku Abdilla accuses the MLP and GWU of behaving badly by discouraging workers against membership at a rain-swept PN mass meeting in Fgura. Dr Sant continues to add companies to his list of endangered species.

February 17: Mosta Labour councillor Ivan Bartolo joins his Nationalist counterparts in a motion urging people to vote yes in the referendum. He can kiss goodbye to his invite to the Christmas MLP party.

February 18: British Prime Minister Tony Blair tells Dr Fenech Adami in London that EU membership would bring prosperity for Malta. Dom Mintoff gets more than he bargains for at the university. Dr Sant says the MLP considered all options before its motion at the general conference when asked if a boycott was being considered by the MLP in an interview with The Times. His deputy had denied it the day before the interview was published. Whoops!

February 19: The electoral commission announces that the results of the local council elections will be announced the day after the referendum outcome is known. MLP publishes an unsigned report on tourism which says "partnership" is better than membership, while Dr Fenech Adami visits yet another factory which denies the Labour leader's claims that it will be badly affected by membership.

February 22: The Sunday Times publishes a survey which says that 49 per cent will vote yes in the referendum, while 22.3 per cent will say no and 16 per cent are still undecided. Mr Blair writes an opinion piece in the same newspaper saying Malta's EU membership will benefit the island, the UK and the Union.

February 23: Dr Fenech Adami says the list of Labourites in favour of membership is growing at a PN mass meeting in Naxxar. Dr Sant adds two banks to his "hit" (or miss) list - HSBC and Bank of Valletta - at a mass meeting in Fgura. The banks think he missed.

February 25: While Mario Vella eugolises about Dr Sant as the quintessential European intellectual while passing off Dr Fenech Adami as a small town bigot, the Labour leader says any comment made by EU ambassador Ronald Gallimore should be taken with a pinch of salt.

February 26: GRTU says it passed a "unanimous" motion in favour of EU membership. Dr Sant tells Mr Gallimore to shut up, MLP publishes a "notebook" on the environment, while its deputy leader George Vella warns that membership will bring undesirable wage increases for employees. Many in the audience fighting for more money applaud.

February 27: GRTU executive council member Joe Zrinzo denies the association's motion was unanimous. Yet another company denies Dr Sant's claims of doom during a visit by the prime minister. Meanwhile, international credit rating agency Fitch warns that staying out of the EU could lead to a downgrade for Malta.

February 28: They are dropping like flies, but not in the way Dr Sant had predicted: Pharmamed, another hit list company, says things will be difficult if the country does not join EU during a visit by the prime minister.

March 1: Head to head live radio debate between Dr Fenech Adami and Dr Sant produces more crossfire than substance. GWU official Peter Paul Barbara attacks the union's anti-EU stand and says reports it had commissioned on the subject were "generally positive". Another Christmas invite goes out the window.

March 2: The prime minister says the no campaign has been dominated by untruths, fabrications and deceitful tactics, while Dr Sant says the referendum is "worthless". Dr Fenech Adami also says in an interview with Crossroads that the country would face a very difficult political situation if it voted for membership and then voted the MLP into power in a general election.

March 3: The MLP sends a letter to Maltese flying in to vote from abroad that they may face criminal proceedings if it transpires that they are not eligible to vote. Dr Sant says it would take him at least two years to conclude "partnership" negotiations. Perhaps some of these voters might be out of prison by then!

March 4: More than 250 court applications to strike people off the electoral register are still pending, while the decision over the court application filed by the MLP to strike off Alternattiva Demokratika EU spokesman Arnold Cassola is put off till March 26. Does the court know something we do not?

March 5: Thirty-one major organisations join the prime minister at Auberge de Castille for an unprecedented joint press conference urging the public to say yes to membership. Only the MLP and the GWU are absent. The MLP's finance spokesman denies that his party told workers they would end up unemployed if Malta joins the EU. No, it just warned them.

March 6: The two parties hold mass meetings but the newspapers are not allowed to tell a reflective public what they said.

March 8: Referendum day sees a gigantic 91 per cent turnout. Dr Sant walks out of the polling booth with his unused referendum voting document in his hand.

March 9: Over 53 per cent of the electorate vote to join the EU.

The Districts

District 1: Valletta, Floriana, Hamrun, Pieta', part of Sta Venera.

District 2: Vittoriosa, Senglea, Cospicua, part of Zabbar, Fgura, Kalkara, Xghajra.

District 3: Zabbar, Zejtun, Marsascala.

District 4: Gudja, Marsa, Paola, Sta Lucija, Tarxien.

District 5: Birzebbuga, Ghaxaq, Marsaxlokk, Mqabba, Qrendi, Safi, Zurrieq.

District 6: Qormi, Kirkop, Luqa, part of Sta Venera.

District 7: Mdina, Zebbug, Siggiewi, Attard, Dingli.

District 8: Balzan, Birkirkara, part of Iklin, Lija.

District 9: Gzira, part of Iklin, Msida, San Gwann, Ta' Xbiex.

District 10: Pembroke, St Julians, Sliema, Swieqi.

District 11: Mosta, Rabat, Mtarfa.

District 12: Gharghur, Mellieha, Mgarr, Naxxar, St Paul's Bay.

District 13: Gozo, Comino.

Referendum 2003 Final result

Votes polled 270,650

Valid votes 266,722

Invalid votes 3,928

Votes yes 143,094

Votes no 123,628