The Labour Party parliamentary group yesterday voted against the Constitutional Amendment proposed by the government to make Gozo a single electoral district, irrespective of the number of voters.

The first reading of the bill had been unanimously approved earlier this year, and although yesterday Labour MPs all spoke in favour of having Gozo as one district during the debate, the MLP later voted against the government motion.

The House was debating the second reading of the Constitutional Amendment intended to keep Gozo as one separate electoral district, regardless of the five per cent threshold with regard to the number of voters.

The door for an agreement has, however, been kept open, as Labour leader Alfred Sant tabled an amendment yesterday that will be moved at committee stage, requesting that if the other districts are not touched, Labour will vote in favour of the Constitutional Amendment at its third reading and at the committee stage.

Dr Sant said that the party had always been in favour of retaining Gozo as one district but this should not affect the new electoral boundaries, which were probably the fairest ever drawn up in the past 30 years.

However, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi countered by stating that the residents of Ghajnsielem should not be “blackmailed” by such proposals made by the Labour leader. He said that it appeared clear that the other districts would not deviate beyond the five per cent threshold, even if Ghajnsielem were to be returned back to Gozo.

The second reading was approved by a majority of MPs, with the Labour group voting against the amendment. However, the crux of the matter lies in the third reading, when a two-thirds majority is needed. Parliament will begin discussing the amendment at committee stage at 6pm next Monday.

* * *

Labour prepared to agree if other districts are not changed

The Labour Party parliamentary group voted yesterday against the Constitutional Amendment proposed by the government to make Gozo a single electoral district,

irrespective of the number of voters.

After a three-hour debate, the MLP voted against the amendment as Labour leader Alfred Sant said the MLP was prepared to vote in favour, if the other electoral districts were not touched. Concluding the debate before the vote, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that Ghajnsielem residents should not be blackmailed.

Lawrence Gonzi (PN)

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the Nationalist Party had always given importance and strategic vision to Gozo, and the recent decision by the Electoral Commission to transfer Ghajnsielem to the 12th District had created commotion among its residents. He said that the Labour Party had never treated Gozo as it should have done when in 1996 it had relegated the Gozo Ministry to a Parliamentary Secretariat.

Dr Gonzi said that he understood that the Opposition would be voting against the Constitutional Amendment at the end of the debate and even in committee stage and after the third reading. He said that the crux of the matter, however, remained that Ghajnsielem should be with Gozo and not linked with Mellieha, St Paul’s Bay and Naxxar.

Calling the Labour leader’s proposal not to change the Maltese districts in exchange for accepting the amendment “blackmail”, Dr Gonzi said that it was not right that the residents of Ghajnsielem should end up in such a situation as it had nothing to do with the amendment. He said it was untrue to say that the government wanted to pass this Constitutional Amend-ment to fiddle around with the other districts, as calculations showed that all 12 districts would remain within the five per cent threshold.

The PM said that the amendment as proposed by the Opposition Leader had serious implications and would hamper the future work of the Electoral Commission. He said that discussions between the two parties had reached an advanced stage, especially regarding a threshold for first preference votes to elect an MP, but these had broken down over Labour’s call for a “majority prize” even if a party received less than 50 per cent of the vote.

Concluding, Dr Gonzi said that the Nationalist Party would continue demonstrating its loyalty and sense of dedication to Gozo by voting in favour of the Constitutional Amendment.

Alfred Sant (MLP)

Labour Party leader Alfred Sant said that it was the Labour Party who had come up with a proper regeneration plan for Gozo and the party had also proposed a Regional Council for the island. He said that the Nationalist government had left Gozo in disarray, with no sense of direction, and the minister was simply interested in political gain.

The Labour leader said that the never-ending saga of the Mgarr terminal had wasted millions of liri and Gozo Channel was in serious trouble. The current electoral system was skewed in favour of the PN, he said, with Labour unable to translate its 1996 victory of almost 8,000 votes into parliamentary seats.

Dr Sant said that this situation was rather unacceptable as it was impossible to apportion votes to seats and the case in Gozo was similar. He also tabled minutes from discussion meetings between the two parties on electoral reform, adding that these discussions had not stopped because of the MLP but had been halted by the Nationalist Party.

The Labour leader asked why the population in Gozo was much higher at this time compared to other districts in Malta. He said that this was due to those Maltese who have second or third residences in Gozo and are registered as Gozitans.

Dr Sant said that this problem could have been solved by administrative procedure and there was no need for this Constitutional Amendment. He said that the current electoral boundaries appeared to be the fairest in the past 30 years but there was heated opposition by the PN to change the Constitution.

The Labour leader asked how the other districts in Malta would be affected if Ghajnsielem returns to Gozo. He said that the Labour Party was ready to vote in favour of the Constitutional Amend-ment if the other districts in Malta were not touched.

Dr Sant also tabled an amendment which stated that the Opposition would vote in favour of the Constitutional Amendment if there was a guarantee that the other electoral districts would not be changed around until after the next general election.

Tonio Borg (PN)

Opening the debate, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg explained that the Constitutional Amendment for Gozo to be declared as one electoral district needed a two-thirds parliamentary majority at the final stage of the bill, which is its third reading. He said that the aim of this amendment was to retain the specific characteristics for Gozo as a district, notwithstanding the percentage variances of plus or minus five per cent.

The minister explained that a number of electoral districts had exceeded the five per cent threshold and this necessitated a revision by the Electoral Commission. The two districts that exceeded the five per cent threshold the most, he said, were the 12th and 13th (Gozo) districts, with the Commission deciding to remove Ghajnsielem from the 13th and putting it with the 12th together with Mellieha, Naxxar and St Paul’s Bay.

Dr Borg explained that in 1970, the reverse was going to happen, with Mellieha joining Gozo as a single district. He said that there was no way of resolving this impasse with current legislation, and so this Constitutional Amendment was intended to preserve Gozo as a single district once and for all.

Gozo is not simply the 13th district – it is much more than that. The island has singular characteristics and has more autonomy than other regions in Malta, he added. He said that there had been some comments that the amendment would bring about the possibility of an increase in the quota to elect an MP in Gozo and this could be true, but it could be sacrificed to keep Ghajnsielem in the Gozitan fold.

Anton Refalo (MLP)

Gozitan Labour MP Anton Refalo said that the proposal by the government reeked of hypocrisy as the PN had not lifted a finger when Fort Chambray in Ghajnsielem was handed over to Italian entrepreneurs unlike Labour, who had protested at length about the issue. He said that the party sincerely believes that Gozo should be kept as a separate electoral district, as it has distinct characteristics and its own particular problems.

The Labour MP said that under a Nationalist government, Gozo was falling far behind, with its Gross Domestic Product at 70 per cent of Maltese levels, the lack of a transport authority on the island and the loss of EU regional aid.

There was, he said, still no sign of special incentives for reviving the Gozitan economy, with hotel occupancy levels having fallen to just eight per cent in the winter months.

Dr Refalo said that the Gozo Minister had no administrative power, because important matters such as finance, health and agriculture remained in the hands of the central government.

Frederick Azzopardi (PN)

Gozitan Nationalist MP Frederick Azzopardi said that this amendment was only intended to preserve the characteristics of Gozo as a region with particular needs and problems. He said that there appears to be consensus on both political benches that Gozo should be retained as a separate electoral district so the whole House should vote in favour of the Constitutional Amendment.

The PN MP said that the debate should focus on the subject in question and one should not deviate from this point.

Giovanna Debono (PN)

Gozo Minister Debono said that she was heartened to note that both sides of the House agreed with the amendment but the proof would be seen at the vote. She said that it was surprising that Dr Refalo had said that Gozo had not received any EU aid, as this was exactly the opposite, with the island gaining over 10 per cent of total funds.

The minister said that it was unacceptable that Ghajnsielem be removed from Gozo for electoral purposes as this would ruin the unique characteristics of the island, especially for the Gozitan voter.

The second reading was passed by a majority vote.