The European Movement (Malta) was pleased with the March 8 referendum result because the Maltese people reaffirmed their wish that Malta joins the European Union.
These are our preliminary comments. We will not waste much time debating the figures and where to put the decimal point. The result is well known by everyone, as are the reactions to it.
Fundamentally, nearly 91 per cent of eligible voters decided to exercise their right to vote. Few heeded the undemocratic advice to stay at home or to spoil their ballot papers.
The referendum showed that 53.6 per cent of the people favour EU membership. It also showed that the people of Malta prefer to be consulted directly. It is an encouragement to Maltese politicians to "factor in" this reality in their thinking and calculations.
Direct democracy
The referendum has given a boost to direct democracy. As we had been constantly reminded in the past few weeks, our Constitution stipulates among other things how we Maltese should elect our representatives to the House of Representatives and how this country should be governed.
But this does not imply that the citizens of Malta should not be given additional means to express their will in politics. The referendum is one such additional means and it should be used more frequently in the future.
We are not saying that everything should be decided by referendum but that major issues of concern to the Maltese people should be put to them directly.
In our humble opinion, politics is not for politicians but for people. Referenda put the people back in centre stage of the decision-making process. People want this to happen, as was shown on March 8.
And if one needs further proof of this reality just look at the history of local councils as well. The people of Malta have not rejected the power that was devolved to them directly from central government through the creation of these councils.
Rather, they have taken a keen interest in them and strongly participate in their elections. In the last round of local council elections held in conjunction with the referendum, 88 per cent of the electorate exercised their right to vote.
Human rights as the base
In the light of this, the European Movement (Malta) urges politicians to go for more democracy, not less. We urge this on the basis of the democratic principles, which the movement has constantly campaigned for throughout its history.
Some years after its foundation in 1965, the European Movement (Malta) began to campaign strongly for the Maltese to be given the right to individual petition to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Malta had signed the European Convention of Human Rights when it joined the Council of Europe in 1965. But Maltese citizens were denied the right to appeal directly to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if they felt that their rights and freedoms had not been adequately protected in Malta.
That campaign was led by the co-founder of the European Movement in Malta and our life president, Rebecca Scicluna Briffa, who at 83 is still active and regularly attends our executive committee meetings.
The Maltese were rewarded for this effort when that right was finally acquired in 1987.
Civil society must be strengthened
The voice and participation of the organisations of civil society must be strengthened and not diminished. Over the past four years, the Government has encouraged the organisations of civil society to participate in the EU negotiations process.
It did this through the Malta-EU Action and Steering Committee (MEUSAC), where these organisations were invited to debate and discuss the various position papers Malta presented in the negotiations.
Hundreds of organisations representing various sectors among them the trade unions, farmers, fishermen, hunters, employers, industry and the business community, participated in the MEUSAC discussions.
Never before in Malta's political history had a consultative assembly involving such a broad representation of civil society been convened.
It would be foolish to throw this process away. The consultative process brought many organisations and their leaders into the mainstream of the decision-making process.
It needs to be continued and strengthened. The European Movement (Malta) intends to work to this end.
The organisations of civil society must be given a permanent forum and their voice must be listened to - and acted upon. Again, more democracy, not less.
Democracy threatened
We wish to highlight a number of factors that have not helped the democratic process in Malta and which need to be seriously considered by all citizens of good will.
It was a mistake in our judgment that, as soon as the referendum result was known, the MLP did not accept it; worse, that it actually claimed victory!
It was a mistake to instruct people not to vote or spoil their ballot papers in a referendum. The people's strongest desire is to be consulted.
It was disrespectful of the sovereignty of the people for the Leader of the Opposition to write to the Prime Minister before the referendum that 60 per cent of all those who vote in the referendum voting Yes would validate the result.
¤ It was a mistake that the MLP should put in jeopardy the law on referenda for which they themselves had voted in Parliament by asking their supporters not to vote in it;
¤ It was a mistake that the MLP should write to the prime minister before the March 8 vote, claiming that in such a referendum only a majority of the valid votes count and then to quickly negate this immediately after the result is known;
¤ It was a mistake that only the Nationalist Party and Alternattiva Demokratika joined the consultative process in MEUSAC;
¤ It was wrong to base an anti-membership campaign on lies and fabrications instead of arguments. It led to polarisation. It permitted the manipulation of the misinformed by the No camp.
The concoction and absolute lie denied by everyone of substance, including the representative of the EU Commission in Malta, that on membership workers will not be able to work as much 'overtime' as they would wish is but one of many examples.
The slogan "L-ewwel int" or "think of yourself first" was anti-social and anti-socialist. This will have long-term repercussions.
The No campaign often verged on xenophobia and racism in its attacks on the EU.
In view of these, we have a right to claim that unless greater care is applied our democratic process may be seriously damaged.
Certainly there is already proof enough that it is being steadily chipped away. More than ever before we are convinced that Malta must join the EU if anything to arrest this alarming trend.
EU membership our guarantee
We strongly believe that membership of the European Union is our guarantee that, in addition to the rights we already enjoy, there will be more scope for developing our democracy.
EU membership has now also become an essential prerequisite to preserve the democratic rights we have acquired so far. When some politicians speak so openly of minority rule and when they so blatantly disregard the will of the majority, one cannot but be absolutely alarmed that our democracy is in danger.
EU membership means that in addition to the rights guaranteed by our Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, our democracy will be strengthened by Malta's association with like-minded democracies respecting fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.
The Maltese may enjoy less democracy if Malta stays out. The writing is already on the wall and it would be foolish for anyone to ignore it.
EU = more opportunities
EU membership also means more investment, more economic opportunities, more jobs and a better welfare for all. This side of the equation had better not be forgotten.
The flip side of this is stagnation. It takes the form of uncertainty in Malta's relations with the EU. It diminishes Malta's attractiveness to foreign investment. It limits market openings. It restricts economic growth.
It will mean less money for Malta, less finance for the government. It means having to postpone for many years to come our tackling of the environmental problem. It would entail a poorer, meaner life.
Malta needs to bounce back into action after this referendum. It should spur on the economic forces that will bring a new phase of progress to all Maltese citizens.
But this economic progress must be pursued on the basis of an ever strengthening and expanding democratic process. EU membership of its own will not deliver this. It will require a strenuous effort on our part to do this. But membership gives us the right opportunities and the setting to achieve these aims.