Malta’s prisoners are still denied the right to vote, six years after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that such a ban was unlawful.

The possibility of an amendment was put in motion after a parliamentary debate on the issue in March. However, little has been heard on its progress. For prisoners to achieve access to this right, a constitutional amendment needing a two-thirds majority in favour would be required for it to pass through Parliament.

Left wing pressure group Żminijietna last week voiced its stand for the inclusion of prisoners in the voting system.

“At present, 18 European countries have no restrictions on prisoners’ voting, while in France and Germany a decision to disenfranchise a prisoner is left to the courts,” it said.

When contacted, MP and lawyer José Herrera and criminal lawyer Joe Giglio both agreed Parliament should pave the way for prisoners to vote in elections.

“The fact that a person is found guilty does not mean he has lost his citizenship or that he has lost interest in the running of his country. Seeing they have lost their liberty is punishment enough,” Dr Herrera said.

A former prisoner told The Times how excluded he had felt when he was behind bars during the EU referendum.

Fr Mark Montebello, who founded the NGO Mid-Dlam għad-Dawl that works with prisoners and their families, said: “This exclusion gives way to the idea that a sentenced person is no longer considered to be part of civil society and is in a sort of social exile.”

At present, a prisoner serving a term longer than one year is not allowed to vote. However, recent amendments gave this right back to citizens serving a suspended sentence.

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