The sixth seat

When the EU's Constitutional Treaty is ratified in all 25 countries of the Union, Malta will benefit by having a sixth seat in the European Parliament. It would be most appropriate if this seat were to be allocated to the island region of Gozo by making Gozo a separate electoral district for elections to the European Parliament which will be held in June 2009.

It is to be recalled that when it was decided to tum the whole of Malta and Gozo into a single electoral district Gozo was effectively deprived of its own representative in the European Parliament. The four Members of Parliament representing Gozo (the fifth one being the Speaker and therefore not voting) failed their island miserably when, toeing their party line, they voted in favour of that law.

It is now time for this to be rectified. When Malta obtains its sixth seat it is necessary for that seat to be allocated to Gozo. This is simply achieved by dividing the national territory into two electoral districts for the purposes of elections to the European Parliament.

Today both parties represented in Parliament as well as Alternattiva Demokratika have publicly stated that they agree on the regional status of Gozo and consequently I anticipate that all three parties would be in favour of this idea.

I appeal to all bodies in Gozo to promote and back this idea. The embryonic Gozo Forum could lead the way and I am sure that other bodies and NGOs would follow suit.

Prior to the next elections for the European Parliament there will be a general election in Malta. The electorate in Gozo will surely note whether their aspirations have been met and will vote accordingly.