Parties clash over 2,800 lost votes

The two major political parties yesterday blamed each other for the fact that 2,800 young people are not going to be able to vote in May’s divorce referendum.

The Labour Party accused Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi of denying young people this right by using his electoral commissioners to publish a referendum writ on Wednesday – meaning the referendum will be based on October’s electoral register.

People who turned 18 in the past six months will, therefore, not be able to vote.

The Labour Party said its commissioners proposed a solution that would have allowed them to participate. It said it would have moved a parliamentary resolution that would have allowed the referendum writ to be published as late as April 18.

“This would have allowed the new electoral register that is going to be published to include all those who turned 18 between October 1 and March 31,” the Labour Party said.

It added that the electoral commission had agreed on this “reasonable” solution but the Prime Minister’s commissioners later changed their position.

“This has left us with the anomalous situation where we have a new electoral register published in mid-April but a referendum based on the old register,” the party said, accusing Dr Gonzi of “anti-democratic” behaviour.

The Nationalist Party, however, denied the allegations and accused the Labour Party of creating a “mess” that deprived 2,800 young people of the right to vote.

It said the Labour Party admitted that its commissioners proposed to “play around” with the electoral law to postpone the publishing of the referendum writ.

This showed the Labour Party had not changed and continued to think it could “manipulate” the electoral system as it had done in the past, the PN added.

“It is the incompetence of the Opposition Leader and the Labour Party that is denying these young people their right to vote.”

The PN said Labour’s motion, which was approved on March 16, stipulated that the President’s writ had to be signed within 15 days, so not later than March 31.

The electoral law was clear, laying down that the writ should be published as soon as it is signed by the President, so it was untrue to say that it could be “hidden” while its publication was stalled by 18 days.

“The PN stresses that this manoeuvre by the Labour Party is a ridiculous mess and is dangerous for the electoral process – a move that would have set a dangerous precedent.”

The Labour Party reacted by saying its commissioners had offered a “legitimate solution” in line with the law and the parliamentary motion.

“Ironically, at first the electoral commission accepted this proposal,” the party said, adding that two of the government’s commissioners had voted in favour, one against and one was absent. After this “clear” decision was taken, these commissioners changed their minds and the decision was overturned, according to the Labour Party.

In a statement, the Yes for Divorce movement condemned the move which could have been avoided “simply” if the writ was published in mid-April.

Meanwhile, Alternattiva Demo­kratika said manoeuvring on electoral registers was “nothing new” because both parties always tried to manipulate the system in their favour and never accepted reform in the electoral system.

Young people were now going to suffer due to “political tribalism”, it said, adding that the system of electoral register used in Malta was “archaic” and could be modernised to become more efficient in line with those of other countries.