Michael Falzon, deputy leader for party affairs of the Malta Labour Party, said neither he nor MLP vice-president Louis Gatt, an MLP delegate on the Electoral Commission, had taken part in any electoral commission meeting which decided to extend the voting time by one hour on 8 March.

Such a decision, as was known by anyone having the slightest idea of how the electoral process worked, was taken only by the commission and not by any political party, much less by any party delegate, especially if that party happened to be in opposition, he added. As promised on Sunday, Dr Falzon yesterday issued a statement to further clarify what happened on the day.

The electoral law, he pointed out, made it clear that anyone in the voting queue had the right to vote even if it was closing time, which meant that the time was automatically extended.

It had not been the first time this had happened. At St Vincent de Paul home for the elderly, voting time had been extended in 1996. Every time that happened, the decision was solely the electoral commission’s.

For the first time ever, the general election of 8 March coincided with local elections in some districts which had, to date, always been won by the MLP, Dr Falzon said. Delays could have negatively affected mainly the Labour Party. The longest queues were at Zejtun, Senglea, Marsa, Zebbug and at the school near St Elmo in Valletta, all of them localities which had Labour inclinations, he added.