Former MEP candidate published election expenses late, case to be reheard
Court of Appeal ordered the rehearing after being cleared by a lower court
A former independent MEP candidate who failed to publish his election expenses in time is having his case reheard after being cleared by the court of magistrates.
A Court of Appeal, presided over by Madam Justice Edwina Grima, passed this judgement on Friday, stating that the lower court failed to give the Attorney General (AG) the chance to submit their arguments.
Gżira’s former mayor, Conrad Borg Manche, ran as an independent candidate for last year’s MEP elections. He was charged in September 2024 as he failed to publish his declaration of electoral expenses to the Electoral Commission within the deadline of 31 days after the election results were published in the government gazette.
During a sitting in November 2024, a police inspector informed the court that Borg Manche, despite being late, had since shared this information with the commission.
The court ordered that proceedings be halted, noting that Borg Manche did not miss the deadline in “bad faith”. It also pointed out that the AG never made any arguments as a lawyer failed to show up for the sitting.
A month later, the AG appealed the court’s decree stating that it breached article 60 of the General Elections Act, which states that the court must first give the AG the opportunity to be heard before taking a decision.
The AG further argued that the prosecution in these cases is normally led by the police, not the AG, and therefore, the AG was not even notified about the sitting.
The Court of Appeal pointed out that there are many cases in Malta’s criminal proceedings where the court is obliged to hear the AG’s arguments, even if the AG is not leading the case.
In its judgement, it said that because the lower court failed to give the AG the opportunity to be heard, the proceedings and the court’s decree are null. It ordered that the case be sent back to the court of magistrates the be heard again.