Norman Lowell 'legally eligible' to contest MEP election

Imperium Europa party leader Norman Lowell is legally eligible to contest the upcoming European Parliament election, despite having been handed down a suspended sentence.

An Electoral Commission spokesman confirmed that Mr Lowell could stand for the June 6 election and said that the 2007 amendments to the electoral law made it possible for people who were handed down a suspended sentence to be eligible to vote.

Once your name appeared on the electoral register, you were also eligible to contest the election, he added.

The Times erroneously reported yesterday that Mr Lowell is not qualified to take part in the euro parliamentary elections.

Mr Lowell had contested the EP elections in 2004, garnering 1,603 votes. He was convicted last year of inciting racial hatred and insulting the President of Malta in speeches in Rabat and Qawra in 2006, which were carried on the internet. He was eventually given a two-year jail term suspended for four years and fined €500.

An appeal from the sentence was dismissed last October after it was found that his fundamental human rights had not been violated by a judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeal. A Constitutional application where Mr Lowell argued that he was denied the right to a fair hearing by the appeals court was also dismissed. He is expected to appeal this latest judgement, an appeal he has to file by May 15.

Mr Lowell's lawyer, Emmy Bezzina, said his client was legally eligible to contest the election and this had been checked before filing his nomination on Sunday.

The nominations closed last night and the 34 candidates who placed their nomination over the past three days, as announced by the Electoral Commission, are: Nazzareno Bonnici, Stephen Borg, Simon Busuttil, Joseph Cuschieri, Alan Deidun, Edward Demicoli, Alexander Perici Calascione, Frank Portelli, Marthese Portelli, Malcolm Seychell, John Zammit, Claudette Abela Baldacchino, John Attard Montalto, Ruben Attard, Glenn Bedingfield, Maria Dolores Camilleri, David Casa, Mary Gauci, Louis Grech, Norman Lowell, Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas, Kirill Micallef Stafrace, Maria Mizzi, Joseph Muscat, Edward Scicluna, Christian Joseph Zammit, Yvonne Arqueros, Emanuel Bezzina, Arnold Cassola, Rudolph Cini, Sharon Ellul Bonici, Vincent Victor Farrugia, Cecil Herbert Jones and John Fredrick Spiteri Gingell.

The list of candidates only becomes official on Thursday since people have until tomorrow to file objections to any candidature.