Last Saturday, the government announced that it will be proposing an amendment to the electoral law to enable anyone who will be away from the island on 6 June to vote in the European Parliament and local council elections one week before, on 30 May.

The issue was brought up earlier this year when the Malta Olympic Committee pointed out that athletes and officials taking part in the Small Nations Games to be held in Cyprus between 1 and 6 June would not have been able to vote in the election while representing the country.

Some rather hilarious suggestions had been made since then. One proposal was to send over ballot boxes by air to Cyprus on election day and bringing them back in time for the votes to be counted with the rest. Another was for the athletes and officials to be brought over from Cyprus on the day in question and taking them back for the last day of the competition.

These suggestions, apart from being costly, also raised the issue of discrimination against those voters who will not be in Cyprus for the Games, but would be abroad on business or leisure. Even they, like the athletes and officials, have a right to vote.

The matter will now be settled by allowing anyone – not only the people who will be in Cyprus – the chance to vote a week before the election.

It is a concession that is welcomed. What is now hoped is that it will be the start of a different approach to election day, be it for the EP, local councils and to elect a government. Maybe the practice could also be used in the future too, and not only be brought up when Maltese athletes are representing their country elsewhere.

For too many years we have been resisting any form of changes to election procedures, and all this because the political parties are too wary and suspicious of their opponents. In a day and age where communications have made great strides forward, we are still using a pencil and paper to give our preferences, with the resultant delays in getting to know the results.

Abroad, election results are known practically minutes after the voting time comes to an end. Here, we take at least 24 hours, if not more, to get to know who won and who lost, and this inevitably leads to an increase in tension.

In developed countries, citizens who reside abroad also have the chance to vote in elections without having to go back home on election day. They can do so in their embassies. Yet, we still resort to the practice of offering Maltese people who live abroad an incentive of a cheap flight to come over to personally cast their vote. Why can’t we just allow them vote in Maltese embassies, perhaps even in consulates, without having to bring them back to Malta?

No doubt, everybody will now be trying to take the credit for such a move. But although the amendment being proposed will make it much easier for people to exercise their right to participate in a democracy, we are still a long way away from reaching the goal of having a much more “open” election.

Each time, the political parties say they are ready to discuss the issue, but election after election little progress is made, if any. The thing is that we tend to leave it right till before an election to start talking about changes, and this leaves little time for an agreement to be reached, and the matter is postponed again.

Political parties should show more maturity in this regard. It’s a matter of trust.