Cassola hits out at MLP attempt to stop him from voting

Alternattiva Demokratika's spokesman for EU affairs, Arnold Cassola, said yesterday he intended to take "strong action at the European level" after the Labour Party filed an application to have his name struck off the electoral register.

"This is a dirty way to eliminate a political adversary. Nevertheless, I will definitely be present in Malta to vote in both the referendum and the general election," a livid Professor Cassola told The Sunday Times from his office in Brussels yesterday.

The Labour Party has applied to the Magistrates' Court claiming that Professor Cassola, who is secretary general of the Federation of European Greens, did not satisfy the residence requirements established by law in order to be eligible to vote.

Last July amendments dealing with the qualification of voters failed to make it through Parliament when Labour MPs voted against.

The bill would have extended the categories of people who would not lose the right to vote even if they were temporarily resident abroad for a longer period than normally allowed by the Constitution.

The Constitution lays down that one may not be registered as a voter unless one was resident in Malta for at least six months in the 18 months before publication of an electoral register.

Professor Cassola said the application filed by MLP general secretary Jimmy Magro was proof of panic in the Labour camp.

"Alternattiva is proving to be an option for pro-EU Labourites and this is one way to try and block us.

"This is anti-democratic. The right to vote is a fundamental right in the EU," he protested.

Professor Cassola claimed that as a politician serving overseas, he had a right to be eligible to vote in his native country.

"In future, what will happen to the five Maltese MEPs? What will happen to our Commissioner? And what about the 120 Maltese people who will be eligible to work for the European Commission? Are we going to take away all their voting rights?" he asked.

Professor Cassola urged the electorate to realise the importance of voting for EU membership:

"Voting Yes means travelling freely to several European countries. Voting No means having Big Brother monitoring all your moves - both in and out of the country."

AD chairman Harry Vassallo described the action against Professor Cassola as proof of the "political hysterics" which have gripped the country.

"This is a legalistic practice taken to a new low. Trying to eliminate someone in this way is nothing more than an insult to democracy.

"Instead of convincing adversaries with sound arguments, some people are more interesting in merely eliminating them," Dr Vassallo said.

Both the Nationalist and the Labour Party have filed applications in an attempt to disenfranchise certain individuals.

The MLP said it had filed a total 1,100 court applications, including 100 cited for their "mental inability", while the PN said it had filed 1,300 such applications, of whom 500 were claimed to have mental incapacity.