Expats living in Malta must register with the Electoral Commission if they wish to vote in the European Parliament elections in Malta.

If, on the other hand they decide to vote in their country of origin, they must contact their embassy that will guide them on the way forward, Peter Agius, the head of the European Parliament Office in Malta explained this morning.

Maltese people who live in other EU countries have to come to Malta if they want to vote for Maltese MEPs since Malta is among three EU countries that does not allow voting by post, proxy or online voting. The other two countries are Slovakia and Ireland.

Maltese living abroad can also opt to vote in the EU country where they are residing.

Electoral Commissioner Joseph Church said that there were no current plans to change the voting system for Maltese living abroad.

They were speaking during a press conference aimed at spreading awareness that EU nationals can opt to vote in the country they are residing or in their country of origin for the May 24 MEP elections.

Dr Agius explained that were 12,215 EU citizens officially registered as residing in Malta with the largest communities coming from the UK (6,652 people), Italy (947) and Bulgaria (850). The numbers might be larger in reality as there was no official tracking system.

The number of Europeans who opted to vote for Maltese MEP candidates to date amounted to about 7,400. However, this number could still change.

Expats who want to vote in Malta must register by March 31 and would have to have an e-residence card or ID card. An online registration form can be downloaded from http:/bit.ly/1f5KIze.

Europeans voting in Malta who want to familiarize with Maltese candidates can follow the campaign on the Facebook page of the European Parliament Office.