In the age of social media and web portals, the electoral law governing the day of silence has become completely “ineffective” and needs to be revisited, according to Chief Electoral Commissioner Joseph Church.

Asked whether the commission had received any complaints re­garding breaches of the law that bans publication of political material 24 hours prior to an election or referendum, Mr Church said he had received an e-mail from the hunting federation’s CEO Lino Farrugia.

In his e-mail, Mr Farrugia said that members of the hunting federation were receiving telephone calls from a private number from people purporting to represent the FKNK, informing constituents to boycott the referendum. “I didn’t take any steps since Lino Farrugia sent the e-mail directly to the police commissioner. It is the police’s task to enforce and press charges if necessary,” Mr Church said.

Meanwhile, a Żabbar resident told this newspaper that he received a phone call yesterday morning from a female who said she was part of a “group of friends” and urged him to vote Yes.

The concept of the day of silence, Mr Church believed, was of value since it left the individual free to reflect and to vote in a free and democratic way without being coerced by third parties.

However, in practice, it was no longer that effective, he conceded.

“The advent of social media has exposed legal lacunae in the electoral law. It’s very hard to enforce. It’s futile for us to keep looking at things which we have no control over.”

Newspapers and traditional media were fast becoming a thing of the past, he said. An article could be uploaded prior to the day of silence but people could still see the article and comment or share it on the social media the next day.

The concept of the online ban therefore needed to be revamped, Mr Church said.

Mr Church’s views were echoed by the Broadcasting Authority’s CEO Pierre Cassar, who explained that the BA rigidly observed the ban on “linear media” such as television and radio.

“From our end, we’re enforcing it rigorously to the comma. We have a team of people who listen around the clock to every single TV and radio programme to ensure that any electoral activity is not broadcast.”

Minor breaches, he continued, were treated with an order to stop immediately while major breaches were slapped with an administrative fine.

The police could also decide to press charges since breaking the law was a criminal offence.

“We regulate radio and TV programmes but then you log into the internet and you see stuff being posted which is not being regulated.”

He referred to the fact that yesterday, the home page of timesofmalta.com showcased a link to the Times Talk debate between Kathleen Grima for the Yes camp and Mark Sultana for the No camp.

“Was Times of Malta in breach? No, because the link was uploaded before midnight leading to Friday.

“This draconian law needs to be revisited and to be limited to direct campaigning by political parties, candidates or movements. It needs to be more fluid.”

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