Updated 8.34pm - Added PL statement
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had denied citizens their "fundamental rights" in working to deny the Nationalist Party two parliamentary seats it was entitled to, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said today.
Dr Busuttil was speaking at a rally for party supporters to celebrate today's court decision granting them two additional parliamentary seats.
"For three and a half years, he worked to deny you your fundamental rights...against democracy's most basic right, the right to vote," Dr Busuttil said of the Prime Minister.
READ: PN gets two additional parliamentary seats
He drew parallels between the legal battle and the Biblical story of David and Goliath, saying the PN had been thrust into the role of the plucky underdog, fighting "waves" of opposition at every turn.
The biggest lesson the party could derive, he told supporters, was to never give up. "Perseverance pays off," he said.
Dr Busuttil drew a roar when he quoted the court judgment, which found that "elections are decided by voters, not by vote counters," and called on the Electoral Commission to implement the decision without delay.
He argued that Labour MPs Joe Debono Grech and Justyne Caruana - the two MPs who had benefitted from the vote miscount - should never have been made MPs this legislature.
They've spent three and a half years keeping their seats warm," Dr Busuttil told the crowd. "Good luck getting the two off them."
There were words of praise for the PN's lawyers, led by Paul Borg Olivier, and all the other party officials working on the case.
The crowd applauded as Dr Busuttil saluted PN member Edwin Vassallo, who will now get a parliamentary seat and "who today saw justice being carried out".
"We will use these two seats in the best way possible," the PN leader said as he wrapped up his speech. "We will use them to strengthen our voice in parliament, and to keep building the PN as an alternative government."
'Things haven't changed' - Labour
Dr Busuttil's 'David and Goliath' simile did not wash with the Labour Party, which in a brief statement accused the Opposition leader of having failed to learn lessons from the PN's 2013 electoral defeat.
"This is the same arrogance that the establishment and Busuttil's elite exhibited before the previous general election," the PL said.