The people were on Friday denied an opportunity to listen to an important debate on the national station between party leaders, just a few days before the May 25 elections, PN leader Adrian Delia said on Friday.

Addressing a news conference outside Public Broadcasting Services, Dr Delia said that he had been invited by the programme Xarabank for a debate with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Although he accepted the invitation, Dr Muscat opted to decline.

Dr Delia said all this was taking place just a few days after the rising of Parliament, a decision the government took on its own without reaching an agreement with the opposition.

A number of Parliamentary sittings had already been fixed for a debate on embryo protection and the speakers had already been selected.

Dr Delia said the country was facing a situation where the government was controlling information, it was controlling which reports to publish and what should be broadcast on the national station. This was reducing accessibility to the people’s right to information and expression.

It was how the Socialist government was strangling the democratic process in Malta, Dr Delia said.