PM to blame for disenfranchised voters

No matter how much the Prime Minister tries to shift the blame on Labour leader Joseph Muscat for denying 2,800 18-year-olds the right to vote in the May 28 divorce referendum, it is only the naïve who will believe him.

Dr Muscat, through the Opposition’s representatives on the electoral commission, had offered a legal solution to enable these 2,800 young voters to vote.

The two members representing the Nationalist Party had agreed with this solution.

According to the legal adviser to the commission, once there was an agreement, it was legally possible to delay the issuing of the President’s writ to make it possible for the referendum to be held on the revised electoral register which has just been published, and which includes the 2,800 new voters.

Laurence Gonzi refused to do this by putting pressure on his party members on the commission to change their position and disagree with Labour’s proposal.

The simple truth is that while Dr Muscat and the Labour Party want these young voters to vote, the Prime Minister and his party do not.