The chairwoman of the government’s new representative democracy committee has promised a broad consultation process after criticism over the way the body was appointed without any prior discussion.
Carmen Sammut, pro-rector at the University of Malta, on Thursday described the committee as an “internal technical group” to explore legal and technical aspects before a consultation process on means of improving female participation in Malta’s democracy.
“Rest assured that stakeholders, including all political parties, NGOs, academics and entities will be part of the process that will be triggered at a later stage,” Prof. Sammut said on Facebook.
“Nobody will be sidelined and the public consultation process will be wide and extensive.”
The Nationalist Party said in a statement on Wednesday it had only found out about the new “technical committee for the advancement of representative democracy” through The Malta Government Gazette.
Opposition public service reform spokesman Karol Aquilina called on the government to suspend the committee’s appointment, highlighting its members’ closeness to the government and the Labour Party and insisting true representative democracy required the involvement of people from various walks of life and political beliefs.
Everybody knows who their circle is: it’s like a club
Prof. Sammut used to chair the Labour Party think-thank Idejat and the committee also includes architect and government consultant Robert Musumeci, Nisa Laburisti Gozo chairwoman Josianne Cutajar, Equality Commission chairwoman Renee Laiviera and Woman’s Rights Foundation director Lara Dimi-trijevic, among others.
However, Prof. Sammut insisted that the committee comprised individuals with expertise in gender issues, law and had sound familiarity with the electoral system and related statistics.
She cautioned against defining people “by one aspect of their life history” and noted that all the members had adequate credentials for the role.
Democratic Party MP Godfrey Farrugia also took aim at the new committee, arguing its members were not the right people for the job.
“Everybody knows who their circle is: it’s like a club,” he told the Times of Malta.
“Democracy requires the Opposition’s presence, including PD and other parties registered with the Electoral Commission.”
Dr Farrugia said there were other subjects within the purview of representative democracy that the committee should be exploring, including the lack of auto-nomous regulatory authorities and the “clear assault on the press”.
In a statement, the government said it had a clear mandate for proposals to improve gender balance in politics, which remained minimal even after 71 years of female participation.
“The government believes more women in politics will strengthen our representative democracy and invites the Opposition, civil society and other stakeholders to play a part in initiating this discussion,” it said.