Colombians vote in Malta, but Maltese must fly home

Maltese voters living abroad once again have no choice but fly home at taxpayers’ expense to vote in the general election, a day before Colombians residing in Malta will be able to vote at Tal-Qroqq to choose their country’s next president.

Colombian residents will be able to vote in their presidential election at the University of Malta’s Engineering Research Laboratory on May 31.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Maltese nationals living abroad, will have to catch a KM Malta Airlines (formerly Air Malta) flight at a subsidised rate of €90 return to vote. For the 2022 general elections, this subsidy cost taxpayers €1.9 million.

In Europe, the only other country that compares to Malta’s overseas voting system is Ireland, which also obliges voters to be in the country to vote, except for a very limited number of circumstances where postal voting is permitted.

‘I’m not going to be able to vote this year’

One voter, Nicola Abela Garrett, who has lived in London for 13 years, told Times of Malta this is going to be the first time that she is not going to be in a position to vote as she was unable to take time off work.

“Surely, we must have the ability to introduce postal voting or voting through an embassy. This system inadvertently stops people from exercising their voting rights. It’s so puzzling why they haven’t implemented it.

“At a time when the far-right is rising across Europe more than ever, we need to participate in democracy.”

Abela Garrett also shared how she was able to cast her vote by post for the UK’s 2024 general election, describing the whole process as being “extremely easy”.

Surely, we must have the ability to introduce postal voting or voting through an embassy- Nicola Abela Garrett, who has lived in London for 13 years, and is not going to be in a position to vote

Nonetheless, Colombia is presenting an alternative solution on Maltese soil for overseas voting, as the countries’ respective elections coincidentally clash.

Honorary Consul of Colombia Joseph Buhagiar told Times of Malta that they are expecting around 2,400 people to vote. The consulate also helped organise voting for expatriates for the congressional elections, which took place at the University of Malta in March.

“The system is impressive. It’s very well organised and super transparent,” Buhagiar said.

Around 5,000 Colombians live in Malta with a work permit, and several others are students, Buhagiar said.

However, in order for them to be eligible to vote for the elections, Colombians would have a deadline to register their national ID at a consulate beforehand.

Colombia then sends boxes with ballot sheets to the different countries based on the number of people who would have registered to vote, along with fingerprint scanners.

“Nobody can open the boxes, not even I. They must remain sealed until the day of the election, and they are opened by jurors,” Buhagiar said.

In Malta, there will be four polling stations, each with four jurors responsible for 600 votes.

To oversee the voting and to ensure that counting is done properly, each political party can appoint a witness who is residing in Malta to oversee the voting system. These witnesses are barred from getting involved in any way; their role is to observe and flag any irregularities, Buhagiar said.

This is the first round of voting. If none of the candidates get more than 50 per cent of the votes, then the process will be repeated in Malta for a second time.

Casting votes at an embassy or consulate is a service provided by most EU member states, each having their own conditions.

Apart from this system and postal voting, a few EU countries also offer the option to vote by proxy. In France, for instance, a voter who might be absent on polling day may permit another voter to vote in their name through a power of attorney.

Malta’s system for overseas voters has long been criticised and deemed costly and outdated. Nonetheless, successive governments have maintained the arrangement, viewing it as a temporary compromise until broader electoral reforms are agreed.