Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said yesterday he was willing to assist to iron out any potential difference between Identity Malta and the Electoral Commission.
His comment came after the Electoral Commission filed a judicial letter demanding that Identity Malta comply with the law by informing it of new Maltese citizens who are eligible voters, or face court action.
The letter, signed by constitutional lawyer Ian Refalo, followed months of bickering after Identity Malta refused to forward the details of those buying passports and the consequent right to vote.
The judicial letter said that, according to law, it was up to the Electoral Commission, not the government agency, to decide whether a Maltese citizen was entitled to vote or not.
By law, Identity Malta is obliged monthly to submit a list of all those who become Maltese citizens. The Times of Malta is informed that though Identity Malta did furnish the Electoral Commission with such lists, they lacked the names and details of those who had acquired citizenship through the cash-for passports scheme. This newspaper was also told that the Electoral Commission, through Prof. Refalo, had sent two legal letters to Identity Malta chairman Joe Vella Bonnici asking him to ensure his agency abided by the law.
The letters remained unanswered, sources close to the Commission said.
“It is unprecedented that the government, through Identity Malta, should ignore a constitutional body. It is even worse, and ironic, that this is done through an agency that falls under the political responsibility of the Justice Minister,” the sources added.
No replies were forthcoming yesterday to questions sent to Dr Bonnici on why the information was being withheld. He only said that “the names of the people who obtain Maltese citizenship are published each year in The Malta Government Gazette.” The government publishes the names of all those acquiring citizenship once a year. No distinction is made between those acquiring it through naturalisation or through the purchase of a passport.
In an almost identical reply to that of the Justice Minister, Identity Malta said: “The clarification of this matter is still ongoing and is being discussed between Identity Malta and the Electoral Commission, both of which affirm the legality of their positions and respective legal advice.”
PN HITS OUT AT JUSTICE MINISTER
In a statement, the Nationalist Party said Justice Minister Owen Bonnici is rendering himself complicit in corruption and the breach of the constitution for failing to take action at Identity Malta over the voting rights' controversy, the Nationalist Party said.
Dr Bonnici is not taking any action against the guilty parties at an "evidently corrupt" agency, the PN said in a statement.
Identity Malta is run by the "friends of friends" in a corrupt manner and has been for months refusing to relay to the Electoral Commission the details of those who had benefited from the cash-for-passports (IIP) scheme. All those getting the passport were obtaining the right to vote.
The word of the law
Article 20 (6) of the General Elections Act says:
“The public officer or other person responsible for the office responsible for the grant or withdrawal of citizenship shall, within the first five days of each month, forward to the [Electoral] Commission a list containing the name, surname, a legally valid identification document number, if any, and other particulars of any person who has been granted citizenship or whose citizenship has been withdrawn in the preceding month.”