Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Opposition leader Joseph Muscat have jointly written to the Speaker of the House of Representatives urging the Select Committee on Constitutional Change to discuss the issue of spending by candidates during elections.

The issue was first raised by The Sunday Times before the EP elections and has since been the source of controversy, with two candidates having filed a judicial protest calling on the EP election to be annulled because candidates had exceeded the spending cap set by law.

A number of candidates have admitted they had no choice but to overspend.

Another, Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas, this morning raised the issue of when a candidate should be recognised as being a candidate in the eyes of the law, and, therefore, when the cap applied. (See separate story).

In their letter, Dr Gonzi and Dr Muscat said the two sides of the House agreed that there should be transparency in the electoral process, but candidates should have the freedom to convey their message in a way that was effective and realistic under rules that were clear and did not allow grounds for ambiguity or interpretation.

They therefore felt that the committee of the House set up last year should discuss all aspects of this issue.

See also

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090716/local/maltese-meps-to-vow-they-stuck-to-the-law