Hands off Gozo

Most decisions regarding Gozo are unfortunately based on the false premise that Gozo is merely one electoral district from a total of 13. The fact that Gozo is one of just two inhabited islands of the Maltese Archipelago seems to escape the notice of the authorities.

The millstone of double insularity, the remoteness of Gozo from the centre of government and the inherent disadvantages of physical separation from the mainland do not seem to cut any ice with some authorities. The latest is the proposed dismemberment of the village of Ghajnsielem and the islet of Comino from the Gozo electoral district.

The Electoral Commission, in its wisdom, has thought it fit to start chipping away from the Gozo electorate. It proposes to attack the territorial integrity of the island region of Gozo. Yes, Gozo is a de facto region. It has all the attributes which the EU specifies.

But above all it has, since time immemorial, had separate growth from Malta and has enjoyed over the millennia a certain amount of administrative autonomy. If one thinks that this is an exaggeration then one should read the recently published book by Rev. Joseph Bezzina entitled Gozo's Government: The Autonomy Of An Island Through History.

The fact that the population, or rather the Gozo voting population total, has hit the ceiling imposed by the Constitution is not enough reason to mutilate Gozo's electoral body. Other solutions should have been considered. Gozo has already suffered a slap in the face when last year it was not considered as a separate electoral district in the European Parliamentary elections with the result that it did not and could not send its representative to Strasbourg and Brussels. Amends could be made when and if Malta obtains its sixth seat.

There is of course one clear solution to the problem posed by the Electoral Commission. Gozo, because of its regional status, should be declared for all purposes to be an electoral district on its own irrespective of the number of votes that are registered there.

This would of course need a constitutional amendment. However, since all three political parties have time and again stated that they are in favour of endowing Gozo with regional status there is no reason why those parties represented in Parliament and the other not yet represented should not be in favour of this amendment.

I am sure that all Gozo MP's will not only be in favour of this amendment but will stand up to be counted and exert all the political pressure they can to bring it about in a timely fashion.