The Electoral Commission had applied to the Revising Officer to include in the Electoral Register those non-Maltese EU citizens who had been included in the 2004 register and were subsequently struck off.

The announcement was made in a letter to the Prime Minister after Dr Gonzi last Friday demanded action for the reinstatement of the 945 voters involved.

The Commission explained that the voters were struck off because a proviso of the relevant EU directive had not been reproduced in Maltese law in a manner that was identical to the directive.

The proviso says that EU nationals included in the electoral register shall continue to be shown on the register until they request to be struck off, or until they are no longer qualified to vote.

The Commission recalled that it had issued a notice inviting non-Maltese EU nationals who wished to vote in Malta to complete the required form. In September, the Electoral Commission's secretary had a meeting with Julian Vassallo, head of the European Parliament office in Malta, who was given a copy of the notice before its publication. He had not objected to it.

It was in this context that the commission gave the go ahead for the publication of the register.

However, after having reconsidered the matter, and in order to avoid any possible conflicts between the directive and Maltese law, the Commission said it had instructed its legal adviser to submit an application to the Revising Officer to allow the electoral register to reflect what the directive required.

In a reaction, Dr Vassallo welcomed the Electoral Commission's decision but said the commission had completely misrepresented the discussion that was held in September. At the time, he said, his Office had complained that non-Maltese EU citizens who had come to Malta since 2004 were not given enough time to apply to be part of the electoral register. He criticised the fact that the commission was 'trying to shift the blame' on the EP office instead of having the humility to admit its own mistakes.

The PN also welcomed the Commission's decision. It said the right to vote was central in the democratic process, and the Nationalist government had recently also moved amendments to the Electoral Law so that those who would be away on polling day could vote a week earlier.

Alternattiva Demokratika, which first made the case public, was also pleased with the outcome.

"We are extremely satisfied that the Electoral Commission has recognized that Alternattiva Demokratika was correct in demanding that all those people having a right to vote in the European elections should be given their basic right back through reinstatement in the electoral register. Such vindication of AD's request represents the triumph of democracy and of the citizen's basic rights," party leader Arnold Cassola said.