Earlier today Alternattiva Demokratika MEP candidates distributed AD’s European Electoral Programme to people in Republic Street, Valletta. Candidates Arnold Cassola and Yvonne Ebejer Arqueros and other AD activists explained the main points of AD’s proposals directly to passers-by.

AD Chairperson and MEP candidate Arnold Cassola touched on the issue of the cancellation of voters from the electoral register, he said, “AD was right in raising the issue. This is another victory for AD and for society. Our position was crystal clear, those who have a right to vote should never have been cancelled from the register. Why was this decision taken? What was the reasoning behind this decision? To add insult to injury all those who were cancelled from the register were then expected to go to court to be reinstated.”

“The Attorney General’s advice that the procedure used by the PN/PL administered Electoral Commission to cancel 945 people from the 2004 and 2009 EU Electoral Register was unlawful and not according to procedure, confirms AD’s position. It is a pity that the Electoral Commission, composed of representatives of the PN and the PL acted in the way it did – to remove voters from the electoral list, when all over the EU people are encouraged to participate and take part in the democratic process. The Electoral Commission did not want to listen to AD’s opinion, the only party who raised the alarm, to journalists especially those from the newsrooms of Maltatoday and The Times, and to the concern of EU institutions such as the European Parliament Office in Malta. We are not asking for the Electoral Commissioner’s resignation, the least he can do however, is to apologize to all those concerned.”

MEP candidate Yvonne Ebejer Arqueros spoke about the need for a more inclusive and caring society, she said, “although there are people who are constantly defending ‘values’ while at the same time insisting that even the most basic rights for minorities are ignored, during this campaign I have met many people who understand that everybody should be treated humanely and equally. The picture of a conservative Malta is a façade maintained very well by certain parties, the reality on the ground is thankfully very different. One example is government’s and conservative candidates’ rhetoric about values. The maternity leave issue is a case in point, with the government resisting at EU level, a respectable minimum leave period for all EU and thus Maltese and Gozitan mothers.”

“Another issue which needs addressing is the granting of rights to partners: those who choose to register their relationship officially. I cannot understand those who resist granting basic rights such as visitation rights in hospital, inheritance etc. to adult people of whatever gender or type of relationship, who choose, freely and willingly to commit themselves to one another in the eyes of the law. It is more about duties than rights in fact – a duty towards one another. Civil partnerships are a sign of a civil society,” she concluded.

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