Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis argued in Parliament yesterday that giving the Electoral Commission (EC) supervisory powers under the Financing of Political Parties Bill was a “sensible” measure as it was an independent body, which had important powers granted to it through other legislation that played an instrumental role during elections.
Speaking during the debate in second reading, Dr Zammit Lewis said he could not understand Chris Said (PN) when he held that the Bill should be administered by the Standards Commissioner.
This official’s competence did not relate to those referred to in the Bill. The EC would be able to appoint an auditor, who would verify the accounts presented by political parties.
Where the commission would not be satisfied with such accounts, it would be able to refer the matter to the Constitutional Court on its own motion and request orders in this regard.
Speaking on a judicial protest filed earlier yesterday by private individuals against the PL with regard to the Qormi club, Dr Zammit Lewis said this concerned the rent laws that were amended in 2009 by the PN government.
Although the reforms were a step in the right direction with regard to the rights of owners, they also afforded protection to political clubs.
Opposition MP Jason Azzopardi (the applicants’ lawyer) was part of the previous PN government that did nothing to change the situation, he said.
Although the PN government should have implemented regulations between 2009 and 2013 to guarantee owners a fair return on their properties, it failed to do so.
It was only after the PL was elected to government that a legal notice was published, introducing a fair return on private properties in line with the requirements laid down by the European Court of Human Rights.
Dr Zammit Lewis asked whether Dr Said was serious when he suggested the PL had “stolen” private properties and, therefore, the PN should be given half the amount of the difference enjoyed by the parties as compensation.
“If there was an injustice with private individuals, compensation should be given to them and not to the PN. Was there any discrimination against the PN?”
The government was not there to solve the PN’s problems but to do things seriously. The government would not burden people with additional taxes.
It felt that it should start by regulating private funding of political parties and establishing candidates’ spending limits in elections.
Dr Zammit Lewis said the Bill created a chain of responsibility that would result in more public scrutiny of political parties.
He said that while he was glad to hear Ċensu Galea (PN) support the idea of a party financing bill, this came 10 to 15 years too late. The PN had 25 years to do something about this, but did nothing.
In fact, reports by Greco – the European Council watchdog for countries that fall under the Human Rights Convention – would often say that under the previous administration Malta was lagging behind in legislation to ensure political parties work in a transparent manner.
In the previous legislature, a Nationalist MP had presented a Private Member’s Bill in an effort to bring about some form of regulation, but this never even made it to the agenda for discussion.
Concluding, Dr Zammit Lewis said this Bill was not perfect, but it was a good first step towards political transparency.