The European Parliament's Valletta Office said it wanted to dispel certain "contradictory information" that has emerged regarding the right of non-Maltese EU citizens resident in Malta to vote in the 2009 European Parliament elections.

EU citizens resident in Malta must register to be included in the Maltese European Parliament Elections Register and vote in the upcoming elections.

Inclusion in the register cannot be automatic since EU citizens resident in Malta have to, first of all, choose where they wish to vote. For example, a British citizen resident in Malta may choose to vote in the Maltese European Parliament elections for candidates fielded by Maltese political parties and independents or vote in the British European Parliament elections for candidates fielded by British political parties and independents.

In the first case he or she has to submit a form to the Electoral Commission to be included in the Maltese European Parliament Elections register. The commission will then inform the British Electoral Commission who in turn will strike that person off the list of those eligible to vote in the British European Parliament elections.

It is clearly illegal for the same person to vote in the European Parliament elections in two EU member states, the Valletta Office said.

In the second case that person will vote under the modalities of British electoral law at a polling booth in Britain or through any other remote-voting opportunities available to him in that country.

The European Parliament Office has been in regular contact with the Electoral Commission regarding the modalities for registration. The Maltese Electoral Commission intends to begin accepting application forms for inclusion in the European Parliament Elections Register as from Wednesday.

These forms must be submitted to the offices of the Electoral Commission in Malta or Gozo together with an identification document. Instructions on how to go about the registration procedure will be issued by the Electoral Commission in the coming days. Meanwhile, the head of the European Parliament Valletta Office, Julian Vassallo, said: "It is imperative that once the registration process begins, EU citizens resident in Malta are given clear, consistent information about how to go about registering and no undue obstacles are placed in their path.

"In such a case the European Parliament Office in Malta is confident that there remains enough time for all such EU citizens to register and exercise their right to vote in Malta".

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