The Yes for Divorce vote currently enjoys a small majority, which has, however, shrunk from the 53 per cent at the beginning of the campaign, the No Movement said this afternoon.

Addressing a news conference, Arthur Galea Salomone criticised the Yes Movement for focusing on 'half-truths' throughout the campaign. This, they said, was worrying since this was a historical referendum.

Giving examples, he said that although the referendum question stated that children would be looked after, according to a study held by his movement, 71 per cent of the Maltese believed the introduction of divorce would have a negative impact on children.

The Iva movement also used the term responsibility when this was a no fault divorce, therefore not reflecting responsibility at all. It was also a divorce which could be imposed on a party who did not want it.

Dr Galea Salomone pointed out that over 11 years, an average of 11 people per year obtained from divorce from abroad. He said that in the first part of this year, 404 people were married, 56 per cent of them in church. But there were only 24 couples where both partners were Maltese who married civilly.

Dr Galea Salomone said that the Iva tried to present divorce as a solution for battered women and cohabiting couples.

Yet, once introduced, people's faith in marriage decreased and cohabitation increased.

In Ireland, cohabitation increased by 400 per cent since divorce was introduced.

The movement also criticised the Yes camp for trying to use Cana Movement founder Mgr Charles Vella to promote its campaign.

He said the No movement did not think divorce should be applied to civil marriages because these were not second class to religious ones.