AD at loggerheads with Electoral Commission over registration of EU citizens

The Electoral Commission does not share Alternattiva Demokratika's concern that it will not be able to register all the EU citizens residing in Malta who want to vote in the European Parliamentary elections next year.

While AD chairman Arnold Cassola believes the commission will not be able to process the applications of the 12,000-odd local EU citizens before the March deadline, the commission is not expecting such a large number to register.

In fact, when contacted yesterday, the commission said that although there are around 12,000 non-Maltese EU citizens living here, only just over 1,000 applied to be registered for the 2004 MEP elections.

"It is, therefore, expected that a similar number will apply to vote during the 2009 elections and the Electoral Office has enough resources to cater for this, and for even a higher amount," commission secretary Joseph Calleja said.

Earlier, during a meeting with Julian Vassallo, the head of the European Parliament office in Malta, Prof. Cassola raised concern that EU citizens residing here, and who have a right to vote in the EP elections, are not yet being registered by the commission.

"Maybe without realising, the Electoral Commission is discriminating against EU citizens," Prof. Cassola said.

Since Maltese citizens can put their name on the electoral register any day, this was a "blatant act of discrimination" considering that Maltese and EU residents have the same rights as regards voter registration for European elections, he charged.

He expressed the fear that the commission does not have enough staff members to process all the applications, explaining that out of the 12,000-odd non-Maltese EU citizens, only 1,200 are registered.

"Even if the office starts processing applications straight away, it will have to process some 100 applications every day to make it by the end of March," he said.

The names of eligible voters for June's MEP elections must feature in the electoral register published next April, with the registration date being March 31.

Dr Vassallo said the right of EU citizens to vote needed to be respected realistically, adding that the office would offer its services to the Electoral Commission to ensure that EU citizens would have the opportunity to carry out their democratic duty.

The European Parliament office was also looking at the possibility of launching a helpline to assist EU citizens.

The upcoming elections could see lower participation, with his office prepared to embark on a campaign encouraging people to go out and vote, he said.

"People need to feel that it is a mistake to abstain," Dr Vassallo said, adding that this is "our second democracy".