Updated: Divorce: Opposition declines PM's proposal

(Adds Prime Minister's reaction)

The Opposition does not believe that the divorce referendum question should give space to different interpretations.

In a letter to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Dr Muscat said that by replying to a specific question, electors would give a definite opinion on legislation for responsible divorce.

As proposed by Labour, the question will ask people whether they agree with the key elements of the divorce Bill before Parliament, including making divorce available only to couples who would have been separated or living apart for four years.

Labour’s motion also has the support of Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, giving it Parliamentary majority.

While the Nationalist Party had proposed a parliamentary debate followed by a referendum if Parliament approved the Bill, a motion moved by the PL proposed holding a referendum before the Bill is debated.

In a letter to Dr Muscat earlier this week, Dr Gonzi asked for the question put to the public to be limited to a simple “yes” or “no” to divorce.

In his reply this evening, the Opposition leader said that with such a question, people would not have definite parameters upon which to vote.

A Divorce Law, he said, had to follow the principles being proposed in the Bill for it to be acceptable to the PL. These would ensure that if divorce was introduced, it was responsible.

The question proposed by the Prime Minister did not offer safeguards.

It was not a simple question but a simplistic one because it ignored the realities and complexities of the situation, Dr Muscat said.

In a statement issued this evening, the Prime Minister said he regretted that the Opposition leader did not accept his proposal for consensus on the question.

He said he would not be commenting on the Prime Minister’s assertion on the support of the Divorce Private Members’ Bill. However, if the Prime Minister really believed that the Bill did not have majority support in Parliament, it meant that he had never wished for the referendum to be held because his proposal had been for this to be held only if Parliament approved the motion.

Dr Muscat said his Parliamentary group agreed that Parliamentary debate on the motion should start on Wednesday and that the referendum should be held on May 28.

He proposed that a meeting of the House Business Committee is held before the debate on the motion starts to plan the debate.

Dr Muscat said he was available to meet Dr Gonzi to personally explain his reasons and clarify other matters, including points of electoral procedure.