The government felt it had to appeal last week’s court judgment allocating two more MPs to the Nationalist Party because it set a “dangerous precedent”, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

The First Hall of the Civil Court, in its constitutional jurisdiction, ruled that “shortcomings in the electoral process” had led to an incorrect result with respect to representing the electorate’s wishes.

Whereas Opposition leader Simon Busuttil described as “insulting” the fact that the government was planning to appeal, Dr Muscat said the government could not let the judgment pass.

Had the same situation unfolded in the last legislature – when the PN won the general election by a mere 1,000 votes and a one-seat majority – awarding two seats to the Opposition would have toppled the government, Dr Muscat pointed out.

Speaking on the PN’s Radio 101, Dr Busuttil lambasted the government’s decision to appeal the “historic” judgment as “an insult to democracy and to the voters”.

“The government’s decision to appeal the judgment is an insult to democracy, an insult to the people and an insult to the voters of the eighth and the 13th electoral districts. Rather than appealing the court’s judgment, the government should be setting the example by accepting it,” he said.

He accused the government of “dragging its feet” during the court case to deny the PN its two seats, adding that by appealing, the government wanted the case to continue to drag on.

When speaking in Żurrieq, Dr Muscat said the government was planning to appeal not so much because of the two seats granted to the Opposition but because it had the duty to “safeguard the voters’ wishes”.

“The court decision set a dangerous precedent because we cannot have a situation in the future which could see the court overturn the people’s decision,” he said.

Dr Muscat said that the result of the March 2013 general election meant a 13-seat advantage for Labour.

However, in accordance with the principle of proportionality enshrined in the Constitution, the PN was allocated four extra­­ parliamentary seats.

Insisting that the principle of proportionality was “just and fair”, Dr Muscat said the repercussions of the judgment went beyond the allocation of two parliamentary seats.

“The judgment does not worry the government, because it has a comfortable majority over the Nationalist Party.

“However, such a decision could set a dangerous precedent,” he said.

Dr Muscat said that, while the government would respect the court’s decision, it intended to exercise its right to appeal.