A divorce referendum will be held on May 28 when people will be asked the same question put to the Irish in 1995.
Nationalist MPs Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Jesmond Mugliett yesterday voted in favour of a Labour motion calling for a consultative referendum on the Private Members’ Bill originally proposed by Dr Pullicino Orlando last July. The Bill, which has since been co-sponsored by Labour MP Evarist Bartolo, is based on the Irish divorce law and offers divorce to couples who have been separated for at least four years.
All Labour MPs supported the motion, which was approved by 36 votes to 33. Although it was a free vote, this was the first time the opposition won a vote in Parliament this legislature.
The referendum question, which will now be put to the public, was opposed by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and the anti-divorce lobby, which referred to it as loaded, biased and misleading.
The question asks: “Do you agree with the introduction of the option of divorce in the case of a married couple, which has been separated or living apart for at least four years, when there is no reasonable hope for reconciliation and where adequate maintenance is guaranteed and children protected?”
Three weeks of parliamentary discussions were closed by Labour leader Joseph Muscat yesterday morning.
In what is a break from tradition, MPs then had to literally stand up to be counted while taking their vote, something that was decided upon in a House Business Committee meeting on Tuesday.
This left Dr Pullicino Orlando and Mr Mugliett standing up with all the Labour MPs as the rest of their PN colleagues remained seated.
In the morning, Dr Pullicino Orlando gave a long and impassioned speech in favour of the proposed question, which he said was perfectly based on the Bill he presented. He said he was “embarrassed” to be in a position where he had to vote with the opposition and against his own party. He even felt the need to read out a declaration before casting his vote, explaining this had nothing to do with confidence in the government, stressing that MPs had been giving a free vote.
Mr Mugliett, a former minister, made no such statement by later told The Times he had made his position clear throughout the discussion and had even sent an e-mail to Dr Gonzi informing him how he would vote. This was before the Prime Minister came out against the question being proposed.
“I think it is worse for Nationalist MPs to be saying as of now they will not respect the referendum if divorce is approved, even before the party takes an official stand,” Mr Mugliett added.
Dr Gonzi said Parliament had taken a “mature” step forward by exercising a free vote, something very rare for Malta. He said he would remain critical of the “misleading” question as it was proposed but his job would now be to persuade the public to take the right decision for the common good.
Asked if he would respect the outcome of the referendum, Dr Gonzi said: “Let us wait for the referendum to pass. But I have declared categorically that I have full faith in the Maltese public and I will respect fully, as I have always done in my political career, the decision of our public.”
Dr Muscat thanked those who supported his motion, particularly his own MPs who put forward a coherent and united stand. He said were it not for this motion, the public would have been deprived of a referendum since the Bill would have been killed at parliamentary stage.
“This is an important vote that is a first step to ensuring Malta becomes a truly European country,” he said, flanked by Mr Bartolo and anti-divorce MP Marie Louise Coleiro. Asked if he considered this to be a vote of no confidence in the government, Dr Muscat simply said the last three years had shown the government “stumbling from one crisis to another”.
Alternattiva Demokratika said the divorce being proposed was “responsible” and those who wanted to deny divorce to the thousands who needed this civil right “should not be allowed to prevail”.
The PN said it agreed that a referendum should be held but disagreed with the question. “In the coming weeks, the referendum campaign will show the approved referendum question is unjust and not neutral and was intended to misguide the public and those who want the introduction of divorce as soon as possible.”
Student organisation Pulse welcomed the vote and the fact that MPs tackled the issue free of partisan politics. It urged all MPs to respect the outcome of the vote and avoid confusing civil rights with religious doctrine.