A law banning publication of political material a day before the election also applies to internet posts but lawyers questioned its practicality.

Stephen Tonna-Lowell and Michael Zammit-Maempel said the law’s wording encompassed the internet.

Dr Tonna-Lowell said the police could prosecute law-breakers without waiting for a complaint. But while it was easy to determine whether traditional media breached the ban, the internet was more complicated and the police had to determine whether the information was uploaded on the day of reflection or election day.

Dr Zammit-Maempel said if the law was applied literally nobody could post a status or tweet something that could influence voters.

“But the law must not be interpreted in a literal sense. Logic and good reason should prevail,” he insisted, adding that people accessed the internet of their own volition.

Full story in The Times.