Political party access to the scans of cast ballot sheets for up to three months after an election opened a very dangerous can of worms as it would be possible to highlight specific voting patterns, Partit Demokratiku said.

It was imperative that there was transparency and a clear plan of action to prevent abuse, for even after the three months of access were over, how would one be able to ensure that political parties were no longer holding the data.

According to proposals by the Electoral Commission, political parties will be given access to scans of all valid votes cast, along with their interpretation by the e-counting software set to be introduced during the May MEP elections.

The data can be held by the parties “for verification purposes” for a three-month period, after which it has to be deleted.

Read: PN stays coy on ballot sheet concerns

PD said that through such access, political parties would be able to predict which MP would be elected in a by-election, and would be able to strategically plan ahead in a way which defeated the spirit of democracy.

It was unacceptable that the country was moving ahead and shrugging shoulders with a flawed system which did not fully adhere to the principle of the secret ballot, a legal requirement for a European election.

“If the way we vote is going to be opened up for abuse, then there should be no question that switching to electronic counting is a step backwards… Godfrey Farrugia and Marlene Farrugia voted in favour of electronic counting because the Party believed in modernising our voting system, but the understanding is that it must not come with any loopholes, risks or potential for abuse.

“As part of the Opposition, PD is not going to shrug its shoulders and accept this situation as a fait accompli," deputy leader Timothy Alden said.

The party said it was urging the Electoral Commission to revisit these flaws immediately, and political parties to take stock of the situation and a step back.