The Communist Party of Malta said today that the right to divorce should be introduced by the State, whatever the outcome of the referendum.

"This will do away, once and for all, with the discriminatory situation that exists in Malta, where those who can afford to, can obtain a divorce from another country," the tiny party said.

It said it deplored the 'undemocratic manoeuvres' and the moral threats which it said the ecclesiastical authorities were using against the electorate.

"The campaign against divorce is resuscitating the bad memories of the 1960s, where those faithful that wanted the state to introduce civil marriage, were humiliated by the Church Authorities, threatened with ‘hellfire’, and denied from receiving the sacraments.

"The religious political struggle is once again with us, in an open attempt to stop a civil right from being introduced. The right to divorce exists in every other European Union country”.

The Communist Party also said the PN 'needs to modernise itself' since it is not seeing the complete separation which needs to be made between church and state.