Alternattiva Demokratika - The Green Party will march in Valletta on Saturday evening in protest against corruption, saying its participation would be “uncomfortable” but essential. 

AD is the third political party to say it will take part in the Saturday evening protest, which is being organised by civil society groups Repubblika and Occupy Justice to coincide with a monthly vigil in honour of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

Both the Nationalist Party and Democratic Party will also be taking part in the protest. 

In a statement, AD chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said the party had decided to take part because “it is essential to publicly demonstrate the need to defend the country’s reputation which is under currently siege”. 

"Corruption and her close relative bad governance are colour-blind. They go beyond today’s party in government and include yesterday’s party in government too, today in Opposition, as is even reflected in the investigative articles of Daphne Caruana Galiza, assassinated twenty-five months ago,” he said. 

Saturday’s protest comes just a few days after the prime minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri withdrew a libel suit he had filed after a court forces him to testify under cross-examination. That decision, which he said was taken following legal advice to not prejudice other investigations, prompted widespread calls for him to step down. 

AD said they expected Saturday’s protest to focus on Mr Schembri and his repeated attempts to elude the courts, and emphasised the fact that many of those who would be taking part in Saturday’s protest had significantly different views. 
    
It said that it would be “rubbing shoulders with those having substantially different views” but that the party would be present to make it clear that not all those willing to speak up against corruption “are tainted with a diluted credibility."

On Friday, activist Moviment Graffitti said it would not take part in the march, saying the event had a "partisan significance".