From Mr M. Turner

In response to your correspondent Oisin Jones-Dillon from Xemxija, may I emphasise that many of us foreign residents of Malta and EU citizens are indeed illegally disenfranchised and treated as aliens.

A few weeks ago I went to the ID Card Registry to register as a voter for the forthcoming EP elections. On entry I was directed to room 28 where a nice elderly gentleman heard my request. We immediately embarked on a tour of various offices in which there was much shaking of heads and passing of bucks. At one point my ID card was scanned and I was told firmly it was invalid for a vote.

At this point we crossed the hall and I was politely asked to wait while my guide went into an office for some five minutes, after which a charming lady emerged and informed me with many smiles that I could not vote but that it would be changed in the next year.

I did not bother to point out that to vote one had to be on the registry for six months and a change “next year” would not be fast enough to allow me to vote in the forthcoming EP elections next June, as is my right as an EU citizen.

I immediately informed Sharon Ellul-Bonici, the EP candidate who promptly put me in touch with Kathy Sinnot, the Irish Euro MP, who is chair of the European Parliament Petitions Committee. The office of Ms Sinnot has now opened a petition for me at the EP on this matter.

I wish to thank Ms Ellul-Bonici publicly for her positive, practical and dynamic response, which has resulted in immediate recognition of this disgraceful problem, and recommend any other disenfranchised voters to contact [email protected], [email protected] , with your full details and they will arrange to make additions to the petition – they will get things done! Words are impressive – actions count!

Michael Turner

RABAT