As the opposition is fighting the voting rights granted to some 91 IIP citizens, Chief Electoral Commissioner Joseph Church said that the Electoral Commission had been “unaware” of the constitutional breaches that took place until it was flagged by the PN. Contacted by MaltaToday, Church also confirmed that the commission has held an informal meeting with Identity Malta – the authority responsible from the processing of IIP applicants – to investigate the allegations being made. “The commission is currently carrying out a fact-finding exercise to determine what action to take,” Church added. Insisting that the investigation was still a work-in-progress, Church would not say what sort of action, if any, could be taken in the near future. “We are leaving all options open, The Commission will be meeting tomorrow to discuss further the issue.”
Church added that the electoral commission had not been aware of the ‘irregularities’ before the Opposition broke the news.
Malta’s electoral law allows citizens to vote in an election only if they have fulfilled minimum residency requirements. The IIP citizens only recently acquired their Maltese citizenship for €650,000. Citizenship incurs an automatic right to vote, but actually voting in an election requires that the voter spent six months in the 18 months preceding an election.
Nationalist Party deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami once again called on the government to shoulder responsibility for the revelations in a press conference earlier today.
Full Article: Updated | Electoral Commissioner was ‘unaware’ of voting rights granted to IIP applicants – MaltaToday.com.mt.
