Finance Minister Tonio Fenech will not obstruct the divorce law from passing through Parliament.

“People voted for divorce and it is Parliament’s duty to have the law the people wanted and I will not be there to obstruct it,” Mr Fenech said when asked how he would be voting.

“In the referendum, people voted in favour, against and some didn’t vote. I expect this to happen in Parliament as well,” he said, stopping short of saying which of the three options he will be choosing.

“It’s important the law goes through,” he said, adding it was a democratic decision that had to be respected.

A devout Catholic, he is adamant he will respect his conscience.

“For me, conscience comes first and foremost, even in the decision whether I stay in politics or not but that’s Tonio Fenech. It is something I have to live with,” Mr Fenech, who had spoken strongly against the introduction of divorce, said.

Mr Fenech said in March that, while being a democrat, he would respect his conscience first and made it clear at the time this was a non-binding referendum.

He had also said that his final decision depended “on a lot of things”, most importantly that the Bill presented in Parliament had to respect the promises made in the question, such as guaranteeing children’s rights and maintenance.