The Divorce Movement insisted today that the will of the people must be respected, and if a majority votes in favour of divorce at the May 28 referendum, their will should be respected in Parliament.
"Those MPs who feel that they cannot vote for divorce in Parliament despite a 'yes' vote in the referendum should abstain," the movement's chairman, Deborah Schembri, told a press conference.
"MPs are elected by the people, and they must respect the will of the people."
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando said he was dismayed that a small minority of MPs had said that even if the divorce referendum was approved, they would still vote against the Divorce Bill because they could not vote against their conscience.
Such MPs, he said, should not have voted for the holding of a divorce referendum, once they were prepared to ignore its outcome.
If anything, he said, they should abstain and not vote against the will of the majority.
Dr Pullicino Orlando and Labour MP Evarist Bartolo, who jointly presented the Divorce Bill in Parliament, reiterated that they would withdraw it if the majority in the referendum voted against the introduction of divorce.
Mr Bartolo condemned what he said was a silent campaign to tell the people not to vote at the referendum, because it was only consultative. He insisted that the referendum was important because it was the way how people would express themselves.
Dr Schembri said the Divorce Movement welcomed the approval of the referendum question by Parliament. It was a question based on responsible divorce, she said. She hoped that once the Divorce Bill was debated in the House, the principles found in the referendum question would be observed.
Dr Schembri said her movement is starting a campaign to inform the people about the divorce law. The first public meeting will be held in Rabat on April 10.
She also announced that Orietta Masini Cardona has been appointed as the Divorce Movement's representative in Gozo while Sarah Cutajar is representing students.
Asked about his role from now on, Dr Pullicino Orlando said his main role was in parliament and the campaign would henceforth be led by Dr Schembri and the movement. His main role now would be to vote yes on May 28.