Updated at 9.30pm: adds government statement
Partit Demokratiku’s nomination for the Permanent Commission against Corruption has not been accepted (see PM's reply to PD in pdf link below).
The party on Thursday nominated Phillip Micallef to fill the post vacated by the late magistrate Joe Cassar.
The commission has been unable to meet for the past eight months since Opposition leader Adrian Delia had yet to nominate a replacement.
On Friday, PD said it received an answer from the office of the Prime Minister informing them that the nomination was refused on grounds that it had to made solely by the leader of the Opposition.
PD leader Anthony Buttigieg, the party said, contacted PN Leader Adrian Delia suggesting he nominated Mr Micallef for the position.
“PD knows that Mr Micallef is the ideal candidate for the position and will be of great service to the nation. It is in this spirit that we believe it is irrelevant from what source the nomination comes, as long as it is made.
“As a nation we need to work against this scourge of graft and corruption. Party politics should not be a factor,” it said.
A spokesman for the OPM said the Constitution was specific. Members had to be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister following consultation with the Opposition leader.
Nomination had no legal standing
In a reply the government said the nomination could not be accepted as it did not have legal standing.
The government was waiting for a nomination from the Opposition leader who had yet failed to come up with a name.
The government said the PD's premise that their nomination as rejected was wrong.
Attached files