Voting got under way for the spring hunting referendum and local elections yesterday in a day marred by the suspension of 10 assistant commissioners.

Residents in 25 homes for the elderly and thousands who are unable to vote next Saturday had the chance to do so a week early. Voting closed at 10pm.

Five assistant commissioners were suspended by the Electoral Commission after they allowed a man to vote at the Sa Maison home for the elderly, a private facility, despite not being on the list of elderly residents.

All five commissioners, including the representatives of the political parties, were replaced. The Electoral Commission was not available for comment but a party source said assistant electoral commissioners were collectively responsible for what happens at the polling stations.

Another five were suspended at the Naxxar counting hall after a Paola resident was mistakenly given the ballot sheet for the Santa Lucia council election to vote on.

They allowed a man not on the list to vote

Local elections are being held in 34 localities – half the country – alongside a referendum asking people whether they want to retain spring hunting. The elections and referendum will be held next Saturday.

Almost 32,000 voting documents for the spring hunting referendum were uncollected by Friday as apathy ran highest in the districts including St Paul’s Bay and Sliema.

This equates to nine per cent of eligible voters, down two points from Wednesday night.

The latest Electoral Commission figures showed that 5,199 voting documents were uncollected in the 12th district (includes St Paul’s Bay) and 3,208 in the 10th (includes Sliema).

Districts with pro-hunting leanings – fifth, sixth and seventh – had the fewest uncollected voting documents. However, Gozo, considered to be a hunting hotbed, ranked fifth from 13 districts with 2,706 uncollected voting documents.

There were 38,180 uncollected voting documents for the local elections, most of which belonged to EU residents with a right to vote. EU residents can only vote in the local elections and not the referendum.

Of particular note is the 11th district, made up of Attard, Balzan and Mosta, which is the only region where council elections are being held in all localities. Mosta is a key battleground for the two major political parties.

From tomorrow voting documents can be collected only from the Naxxar counting hall where the Electoral Office has set up temporary facilities.

The deadline for collecting voting documents is midnight on Thursday. Registered voters can only vote if they have the voting document.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com