Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has blamed Labour for the fact that Maltese people working or studying abroad cannot vote from their country of residence.
Taxpayers pay €321 for each person flown to Malta to vote
Dr Gonzi “agrees” that Maltese people entitled to vote should be able to do so at Maltese embassies, a spokesman for the Prime Minister told The Times, in the wake of an online petition by expats.
“The Government did take steps over this legislature to improve the electoral process. Unfortunately, it was the Opposition that stepped back and abandoned discussions on these important issues,” the spokesman said, adding that the Government wanted to discuss these issues in a parliamentary Select Committee.
The committee was set up after the Prime Minister wrote to Opposition leader Joseph Muscat in July 2008. In his letter, Dr Gonzi had said he had “no difficulty” discussing any suggestion that could improve the country’s democratic operations.
He specifically referred to the right to vote in embassies for those who work or study abroad.
Labour had withdrawn from the Select Committee for democratic change in March 2010 after a controversial vote in Parliament over the power station extension contract.
On that day, parliamentary secretary Mario Galea was heard to have voted in favour of the Opposition’s motion, but Foreign Minister Tonio Borg then said Mr Galea had made a mistake and claimed Labour MP Justyne Caruana had done the same. The Speaker had called for a re-vote but the Opposition walked out of Parliament, insisting Dr Caruana had voted with her side and it had won the vote.
Labour has since promised to convene a Constitutional Convention to discuss “all necessary constitutional reforms”, including updates to the electoral process. In 2009, Labour had said it wanted embassy voting introduced by 2010.
Alternattiva Demokratika has pledged to include the right to vote abroad in its manifesto for the upcoming election. AD also claims that the matter could “technically” be resolved in time for the election.
Meanwhile, the Nationalist Party revised its reply to The Times where it originally dismissed the issue as “academic”.
“The PN has no problem with people voting from embassies and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had already spoken clearly and suggested this as the way forward. Of course, this requires change in legislation,” the party’s spokesman said.
An online petition calling for the introduction of absentee balloting in Malta has now gathered more than 500 signatures.
The petition (www.change.org/petitions/make-an-absentee-ballot-system-a-key-part-of-the-2013-election-campaign) suggests three methods of absentee balloting: electronic voting, postal voting or voting at Maltese embassies.
The petitioners realise it is unlikely for any of these to be introduced for the upcoming election, now that Parliament has been dissolved, but are calling for this to become a key issue of the electoral campaign.
Meanwhile, the Government has confirmed the arrangements for previous elections regarding subsidised flights would be implemented for the March 9 election.
The flights usually cost voters €35, leaving the rest of the cost to the taxpayers. This amounts to about €321 for each person flown to Malta.
Bringing more than 3,057 people to vote in the 2008 general election had cost the taxpayer over €1 million and €442,000 was spent to fly 1,377 people to Malta during the European Parliament election in 2009.
The Times on Friday reported that the European Commission has promised to take steps to prevent EU citizens from losing their right to vote as a consequence of exercising their right to free movement.
“Disenfranchisement may constitute an obstacle to the effective exercise of this fundamental EU right,” the Commission has told member states that do not provide necessary arrangements for voters.
European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding in October said “further steps” could be taken on this matter.