Friday, 9th May 2008 - 19:30CET
Labour delegates voting on motion to extend voting rights
Labour party delegates have started voting on a motion to amend the party statute to enable paid up members to vote in the election to elect a successor to Alfred Sant.
The motion was presented by new Labour MP Marlene Pullicino at the opening of an extraordinary general conference, the first since the MLP suffered a narrow defeat at the March 8 general election.
To date only the delegates to the general conference, numbering almost 1,000, have a right to vote in the leadership election.
The idea to extend the right to vote was first mentioned by George Abela, one of the five contenders in the leadership contest.
Dr Pullicino said at the opening of an hour-long debate before the vote was taken that a vote in favour of the motion would make the MLP more democratic and more inclusive. It would also mean it would have a leader with stronger authority.
The debate was divided into half an hour for speakers who were in favour and half for those against.
Among those who spoke against were Mayors Michael Cohen (Kalkara) and Paul Farrugia (Tarxien). Mr Cohen expressed his regret that two months after the election, the MLP was still discussing how to elect its leader, when it should be holding the government to account. He argued that it would be logistically impossible to hold an election among 19,000 members in 27 days. Furthermore, while he had every respect for the members, one had to acknowledge the role which the delegates played within the party.
Mr Farrugia was given a standing ovation when he introduced his address by thanking Alfred Sant for his service. He argued that it should be the delegates who should vote for the leader because they were, after all, the delegates of the members to the general conference, in the same way as the people elected their representatives to Parliament.
MPs took decisions in Parliament on behalf of the people, and the delegates would take decisions at the general conference on behalf of the party membership, he said.
One of the delegates who spoke in favour of the motion said he could not understand why it should be so difficult to hold an election among all the members in 27 days when the party had said it had been ready for a general election.
Winding up Dr Pullicino urged the delegates not to fear change, which, she said, would benefit the party.
The speeches was characterized by murmuring by many delegates as those in favour of the motion made their comments, giving observers the impression that the motion will be defeated.
All the leadership contenders were present for the debate.
Voting will take place over three hours and vote counting is expected to start at around 11.30 p.m.
Picture: The MLP conference in progress. Leadership contenders are in the front row.
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Comments
I pitied myself for being such a gullible member of the MLP through out my life, on reading the way some omnipotence reasoned against the motion brought forward to give us paid up members the right along with the delegates to elect the new leader of the MLP.
I shed a tear or two, commiserating with those against the motion pleading that it was a task beyond the MLP to organise an election with the participation of 19,000 paid up members in a misery of 27 days.
The much boasted about MLP party well prepared to step up into power, deemed it was beyond its means to give a chance to 19,000 paid up members to have their say in a mere 27 days. Certainly there is too much food for thought in such an outright declaration.
So coming 2013, all those who have been supporting the reds for so many years, have nothing to do, but delegate the 920 privileged delegates to win the power back for the MLP, who in a period of 25 years would have been in power only for 22 months,maybe with the full role and power that many of the delegates who voted yesterday enjoyed during this period.
Well done, comrades delegates, certainly you are the beginning and end of the MLP. Nobody can call me a bad loser, three consecutive defeats in the general elections does not leave any room to feel bad. Perhaps pity, yes.
NB you must have been suffering from a severe blocked nose these past 3 elections.
Congratulations on regaining your acute sense of smell! Maybe you can smell a pyrrhic victory.
There are new realities that have to be heeded. Please don't succumb to the ostrich syndrome in order to assuage a false sense of righteous pride.Whoever becomes leader of the party had better live up to his/her promises of inclusion and openness and not perpetuate what needs debunking.