Man who gave up Maltese citizenship remains on electoral roll
Right of any person to vote cannot be questioned on election day
A man who renounced his Maltese citizenship in October 2024 received a voting document ahead of the coming general election, despite being ineligible to vote.
Born in Malta but living in the UK, Darryl, whose surname is being witheld from publication, renounced his Maltese citizenship a few months after becoming a British citizen in mid-2024.
Yet a few weeks ahead of the coming general election, Darryl found out that a voting document had been issued in his name and delivered to an address at which he has not resided since 2017.
“Despite having not set foot on the Maltese islands in nine years and having written confirmation from the Citizenship Unit that I ceased to be a Maltese citizen, I somehow still appear on the electoral register,” he told Times of Malta.
When contacted, the Electoral Commission said that it is up to Community Malta, the office responsible for citizenship, to inform the office on a monthly basis of every citizenship renounced, revoked or granted in the previous month.
However, Community Malta confirmed that information on citizenship renunciations is provided to the Electoral Commission every month, and that records show a document was issued to the relevant entities regarding persons who renounced citizenship in October 2024.
Times of Malta has asked the Electoral Commission to confirm whether it received the notice for October 2024.
The Constitution states plainly that a person must be a Maltese citizen to be registered as a voter.
However, the General Elections Act says that even if someone appears on the register, that person is not entitled to vote if they have ceased to meet the necessary qualifications. It is a criminal offence to vote despite knowing that one has lost the right to do so.
Darryl said he has no interest in travelling from the UK to cast an illegitimate vote in Malta. “But what’s to stop any unscrupulous fellow in a similar situation from doing so, or worse, selling their vote to the highest bidder?”
Assistant commissioners oversee the integrity of the voting process at polling stations. These commissioners are provided with a list of voters entitled to vote at their specific booths and copies of the photograph of each voter to assist in the identification.
While the right of any person to vote cannot be questioned on election day, the assistant commissioners are empowered to question voters as necessary until they are satisfied that the person in the booth is the registered voter.
Assistant commissioners may also administer an oath to any voter to confirm their identity. Anyone who refuses to answer the commissioners’ questions or take the oath can be barred from voting.
It is not known how many others who have renounced citizenship may have received voting documents ahead of the election.