“Why did the Majority of Gozitans vote Yes yesterday? Reasons will be various. Maybe because the Lawyer defending the Hunters is Gozitan and Gozitans like to stick together or maybe some have my same feeling that past times are as important to people as anything. You should not arbitrarily take away someone’s past time pretending to be the voice of a dove.

Most of the Gozitans who voted yes yesterday must have been wives of hunters who could not imagine their beloved husband locked up in the house when usually for all his adult life he has had this pleasurable time of hunting. What would they do instead? Go to the local bar? The wives do not want to miss those dinners which their husbands might bring during the season, saving money and eating such nourishing meals.

But I think most Gozitans voted Yes because they felt the double face of the SHOUT, making fun of the hunters repeating that they should continue building the sejjieh walls, and many insinuations without much basis for them.

Others who voted Yes must have seen the hand of the Alternattiva in creating this Referendum who notwithstanding having no chairs, want to mingle in power through the window having all doors closed in their face.

Some Gozitans have their Dreambox not only for sports but they also watch Science Documentaries and they learn that because of the World climate change the birds are migrating earlier to lay their eggs and therefore the SHOUT argument does not hold.

For me the most arrogant issue was the money they made the Government spend for the Referendum! One person for two sittings got € 320 for the counting € 190, € 500.00 per person because the SHOUT climbed on the legal right caravan and called for a Referendum.

Just heard the IVA campaign seems to have won by 5000 more votes and I can hear fireworks in the background in Gozo. This is not a win only for hunters right to live their life but also a win for the two political parties sending a message to other groups that the power of the people should be left alone and to serve only the LP and the PN who are in power and in Opposition.

I hope that Parliament sits down and amend some laws on how to call a Referendum. We are a small country and we cannot run our country with the exact laws of other countries. For example the government should raise the signatures quota to call a referendum.

Can state that there could only be one referendum in a period in office and there has to be at least five (or whatever) issues to be resolved in a one referendum. There should not be print outs or billboards, no phone calls and no spots on TV. No money should be spent by opposing parties to harass people to vote.

The only presentation should be a TV programme on the National station only, where each party being of the 10 or more issues will present to the people informing them why the Referendum was called and its reasons for his position.

We as a Citizen have elected the Political Party in power but there is also a great number of supporters of the party in opposition.

We elect and support these people because we believe in their capability to govern and therefore it is not against principle that I ask them what they think about any referendum issues because they are people of my trust, but I did not elect the Bishop or Archbishop and I do not believe that they should express their personal idea on how they are going to vote because undoubtedly they will influence the pious people.

If any of the issues to be put for the Referendum have a theological implication or religious value, then like the parties, the Church will be given an allotted time on TV with the others to express its views, but no one should be allowed to make any campaign otherwise they disrupt our daily way of life and we become people who are always is in discord and turmoil.

Anthony Zammit

Gozo.

Photograph: Alain Salvary

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