Voters across the country will be heading to the polls today to decide the fate of spring hunting in the first-ever abrogative referendum.
In half of the country, voters will also elect their local council representatives.
The referendum is asking voters whether they want to retain the law that makes spring hunting possible.
It is the seventh referendum in 145 years but it also has a historic dimension because it is the first to be requested by citizens. All referendums to date were consultative while today’s vote seeks to abolish a law and the result will be binding.
For the referendum to be valid at least half of eligible voters plus one would have to cast their vote. If the Yes wins, the law will remain as is and the spring hunting season will open next Tuesday; if the No wins, the law will be abolished and spring hunting will stop being practised.
But history will also be made today because 16-year-olds are voting for the first time in the local elections.
History will also be made today because 16-year-olds are voting for the first time in the local elections
There were 4,485 teenagers entitled to vote as a result of legal changes last year that reduced the voting age for local elections to 16.
There were 338,447 eligible voters for the referendum but 20,937 votes remained uncollected by midnight on Thursday. This equates to 6.2 per cent of the electorate.
The highest amount of uncollected votes – 3,433 – was registered in the 12th district (Mellieħa, St Paul’s Bay, Naxxar). This was followed by the 1st district (Valletta, Floriana, Ħamrun, Pietà, Santa Venera, part of Marsa) with 2,012 uncollected votes and the 9th district (Msida, San Ġwann, Swieqi, Għargħur, Ta’ Xbiex) with 1,932 uncollected votes.
Campaigning stopped on Thursday but the debate in favour and against spring hunting continued unabated on the social media, especially Facebook, throughout yesterday.
Polling stations open at 7am and will close at 10pm. Vote sorting for the referendum will start tomorrow at 9am and the unofficial result is expected to be known some 30 minutes later.
Council votes counted next Saturday
Votes for the local elections will be counted next Saturday.
Local elections are being held in 34 localities and 224 councillors will be elected.
There were 197,682 eligible voters for the local elections, which included foreign EU nationals resident in Malta. However, 32,492 local council voting documents remained uncollected, equating to 16.2 per cent of the electorate.
St Paul’s Bay and Mosta are the largest localities and voters will elect 13 councillors in each, followed by Qormi with 11 council seats up for grabs.
The Electoral Commission yesterday warned the use of mobile phones, cameras and photographic equipment in polling places was prohibited and anyone found in breach shall have the equipment confiscated.
It also said that voters, who will be going abroad today are entitled to skip the queue at polling station provided they present documented evidence of confirmed travel booking to the police officer in charge.
The 16-year-old voters
• Mosta, a key battleground council for the two major political parties, has the highest number of voters aged between 16 and 18.
• Mosta tops the list with 468 teenagers voting for the first time in a local election, followed by St Paul’s Bay with 342 teenagers eligible to vote.
• Qormi placed third with 328 teenagers able to choose their council representatives.
• There are 101 foreign EU nationals aged between 16 and 18 eligible to vote across various councils.
• The law only allows 16-year-olds to vote in local elections and precludes them from voting in the general election and national referendums. However, teenagers could not be candidates.