Allegations of abuse can never be expunged by a result of a general election, the Civil Society Network said today.
In a statement, CSN said that the present debate taking place in Malta concerns the serious accusation that the Rule of Law is now under attack. Many have remarked that the massive electoral victory enjoyed by the current governing party during the general election held last June expunges the very need for any such debate.
The Civil Society Network strongly believes such an argument to be entirely fallacious and with no legal basis whatsoever under Maltese law. It affirms that the Rule of Law demands that all allegations of a criminal nature be judged in a Court of Law where one and all are considered equal, rather than through general election results.
The Civil Society Network notes that this argument has become even more mainstream following MEP Alfred Sant’s declaration to the press in Strasbourg when he remarked that, even though prior to the June election he believed that Minister Konrad Mizzi ought to have resigned due to the seriousness of the allegations being made against him, since this very same politician had contested the June election with success, he now believed Minister Mizzi to be fit to serve as a minister of the Maltese Government.
Whereas the Civil Society Network strongly disagrees with this reasoning, it states that this prevailing attitude undermines the very foundation of the Rule of Law. In Malta, general elections do not provide juridical or moral immunity to anybody. On the contrary, in any state considered to be truly democratic, each and every individual is considered equal in the eyes of the law.
The Civil Society Network appealed to all Maltese politicians to uphold their responsibilities and to truly contribute towards strengthening the democratic values of the Maltese people.
The Civil Society Network will be organising a demonstration in favour of justice on Sunday 3 December at 4 pm in Valletta. The main speaker will be the former Magistrate against corruption Antonio Di Pietro.