The Labour Party has suggested to the Electoral Commission that it charter a plane to carry its officials, party representatives and a ballot box to Cyprus on June 6 so that the Maltese contingent at the Small Nations Games can vote.

The proposal was made when PL General Secretary Jason Micallef had a meeting with the Electoral Commission.

The PL said the plane should leave Malta at 6 a.m. on June 6 and return in the afternoon of the same day.

In this way, the party said, there would not be any need to amend the Electoral Law for the contingent to vote.

The suggestion was made after the Malta Olympic Committee had called for measures that would enable the athletes and its officials to vote before leaving for Cyprus. The PN had backed the proposal but it was pointed out that the law did not allow early voting in this case.

At his meeting with the commission, Mr Micallef also insisted that the commission should take over the arrangements for Maltese voters living abroad to be brought to Malta to vote, when they were entitled to do so. He said the commission should be the organisation which handled requests from such voters and made arrangements for them to come to Malta. To date, it is up to the voters themselves to make arrangements with Air Malta.

Mr Micallef also called for the renewal of ID Cards to be completed by mid 2010.

PL PROPOSAL 'DISCRIMINATORY' - PN

The Nationalist Party in a reaction described the proposal to take a ballot box to Cyprus as mediocre and something which would distract the athletes.

Furthermore, such a measure discriminated against other Maltese who were abroad.

The PN recalled that last January 23 it had proposed to the government that the Electoral Law should be amended to allow early voting in such circumstances. Such an amendment would enable the athletes to vote before leaving Malta.

The PL had agreed with this suggestion in principle, but for unknown reasons it was now distancing itself from this practical solution.