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Close to 6,000 Britons resident in Malta will be losing their right to vote in the forthcoming European Parliament and local council elections as a result of Brexit, the Electoral Commission has confirmed. 

The UK is set to leave the EU in a month’s time on March 29.

Earlier this month, the government published a legal notice that will effectively ban  Britons resident in Malta from voting in the forthcoming European and council elections on May 25. 

EU nationals residing on the island are also eligible to vote

While Brexit is not mentioned, the legal notice states that in the event that a state leaves the European Union, the Electoral Commission shall proceed to cancel from the EU electoral register any such persons “who are solely registered in that register by virtue of their being citizens of that state which has ceased to be a member of the EU and this without any further notice or proceedings”.

A spokesman for the Electoral Commission noted that by law, besides Maltese citizens, EU nationals residing on the island who are listed in the EU electoral register are also eligible to vote in these elections, including local councils.

Moreover, with the introduction of the rolling register and the amendment of the electoral laws which lowered the voting age from 18 to 16 years, even those who attain or shall attain the age of 16 years up to and including the day preceding the date of the elections, May 24, are entitled to vote.