The Medical Association of Malta (MAM) has expressed concern over allegations of “fraud and abuse” made in a judicial protect about the election of the nursing council.
The Health Ministry announced yesterday that an independent inquiry led by Joseph Caruana, the permanent secretary within the Environment Ministry, would be held to look into the claim.
MAM president Gordon Caruana Dingli told The Sunday Times of Malta it was very important that the allegations were taken seriously as they could have far-reaching consequences.
He cautioned that these allegations had implications in the EU which could even get involved and stop the mutual recognition of degrees.
The judicial protest filed on Thursday by lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta claimed the election of the nursing council had been flawed.
The rubber stamp was not original
In the judicial protest, the two unsuccessful candidates – Corinne Ward and Maria Cassar – demanded a public inquiry into the election run by an electoral commission set up to oversee the process. The protest also requested the ministry to refrain from endorsing the result until an inquiry had been concluded.
Health Minister Chris Fearne told the Times of Malta on Friday that the Council for Nurses and Midwives was an autonomous body that appointed its own electoral commission. It was the council that was responsible for publishing the electoral results. However Mr Fearne committed himself to appointing a public inquiry “within hours”.
The judicial protest mentioned as evidence two sets of ballot papers in the election, one of which seemed photocopied – the rubber stamp on these ballot papers was not original and the same mark consistently appeared on each ballot paper in this set.
Suspicion was also raised about the number of votes submitted, which was unusually high. Almost 2,000 votes were submitted (twice the usual number) adding to concerns that ballot papers were photocopied to favour those elected.
The two nurses who filed the judicial process argued that the election did not provide the rigour, transparency and security expected in an election for councillors holding such an important role. They pointed out the health sector was going through some major transitions and the council’s role was critical in the process.