Updated 7 June 10am

The government has set up a technical committee for the advancement of representative democracy - and the Opposition only learnt about it from the Government Gazette. 

The committee is chaired by Carmen Sammut, and includes seven other members. It was appointed by Parliamentary Secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Nationalist Party MP and citizenship spokesman Karol Aquilina said that the Opposition only got to know about the technical committee when it came across its mention in the Government Gazette.

The committee will be chaired by Carmen Sammut, a media analyst and former chair of Labour Party think-thank Idejat. Among its other members are architect and government consultant Robert Musumeci, Nisa Laburisti Gozo chairperson Josianne Cutajar and Equality Commission chair Renee Laiviera.

In his statement, Dr Aquilina noted that the committee been appointed without any terms of reference having been announced.

He called on the government to suspend the committee’s appointment, saying that true representative democracy required the involvement of people from various walks of life and political beliefs, including those of the Opposition.

Parliamentary secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli replied to the Opposition's criticism on Twitter, saying that the committee she had appointed was an "internal governmental committee" and that stakeholders, including the Opposition, would be "invited for discussions" focused on increasing the number of women directly involved in politics. 

Committee members

Chairperson
Prof. Carmen Sammut

Members
Dr Jonathan Attard
Prof. Frank Bezzina
Dr Josianne Cutajar
Dr Lara Dimitrijevic
Ms Renee Laiviera
Dr Robert Musumeci
Ms Lorraine Spiteri