Sant proposes election followed by referendum

Opposition leader Alfred Sant yesterday proposed to the prime minister that the general election should be held as soon as possible and that the elected party would then hold a referendum on the EU which would be binding only if 60 per cent vote "yes" or "no".

The new government would hold the referendum by not later than a stipulated date, he proposed.

"The two parties would agree that the referendum result would no longer be that of a consultative one, but of a definitive and binding one, certainly for the duration of the legislature, if the 'yes' or 'no' vote totals 60 per cent or more of the valid number of votes cast."

The opposition leader was replying to Dr Fenech Adami's letter, sent to him last week, inviting him for talks on the holding of the EU membership referendum and the general election.

The prime minister proposed that the referendum be held in March, that the two leaders appeal to everyone to vote and that, whatever its outcome, the election would be called no later than on a date the two would have agreed upon.

The prime minister's letter was sent shortly after parliament approved his motion authorising the government to hold a referendum on EU membership.

Dr Sant replied that the government was expecting the result of the referendum to be binding forever and this on a national issue about which the constitution required a two-thirds majority in the House.

"I don't think this is such a democratic attitude," he protested.

Dr Sant reminded the prime minister that a former Nationalist government had triggered off a political crisis during the referendum on independence.

He agreed that the national interest required a stop to the uncertainty about the country's future. The proposal to hold an immediate election would automatically eliminate such uncertainty, especially in the eventuality that the consultative referendum result would be interpreted in different manners.

It was Dr Fenech Adami himself, he said, who in an interview with The Times had been quoted as saying that the result of the referendum would be subject to confirmation in the general election.

The opposition leader said he took the decision after hearing the opinions of his colleagues in the Labour Party, after considering the national interest and "with a sense of compromise".

The prime minister could not be contacted for comment.