Gozo minister, mayor resist Ghajnsielem shift proposal

The Minister for Gozo and the mayor of Ghajnsielem yesterday hit out at the Electoral Commission's proposal to shift Ghajnsielem from the 13th electoral district to the 12th which includes Mellieha, Naxxar and St Paul's Bay.

Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono and Ghajnsielem mayor Francis Cauchi are among the opponents to the proposal.

Nationalist Party general secretary Joe Saliba said there was no other option unless the political parties agreed to change the Constitution, which lays down that a district cannot deviate more than ± 5 per cent from the mean number of votes per district.

Gozo currently exceeds the threshold by 7.74 per cent and Mr Saliba said that since Ghajnsielem was the closest town to Malta, the Electoral Commission had to go for this preference.

There is still hope of a solution, however, because the political parties are discussing the possibility of amending the Constitution with regard to the electoral process.

Labour Party general secretary Jason Micallef said this was not a case of being unfair to the Gozitans. As things stood, he said, Gozo had a surplus of voters.

Alternattiva Demokratika's general secretary, Stephen Cachia, said the party was open to suggestions with regard to the possibility of Gozo being considered a separate region for the purpose of an election, even if it had a surplus number of voters.

Ms Debono stressed that Gozo should be given particular consideration since it was an island and not only a region.

She said she would make suggestions in an attempt to resolve the problem and added that she agreed with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi that the report should be referred back to the Electoral Commission. She did not elaborate.

Mr Cauchi said he was vehemently against the proposal, adding that the villagers shared his feelings. "We are Gozitans and have always voted as part of Gozo. We would feel betrayed not to be able to vote as part of the Gozo district and have the possibility to vote for Gozitan candidates," he said.

The mayor said people from Ghajnsielem would obviously know Gozitan candidates better than Maltese ones and would therefore feel at a disadvantage not to be able to vote for them.

"I understand that there is a need to make some changes but I am sure there are other ways and means of going about it," he said. The mayor said the issue had not yet been discussed at council level but added he would raise it during the next council meeting.

Mr Cauchi asked whether the proposed move meant that Ghajnsielem, since it would no longer be part of the Gozo district, would also be cut off from certain projects initiated by the Gozo Ministry.

Ms Debono said this would not be the case and Ghajnsielem would still benefit from projects because the ministry worked for the whole of Gozo.