For a referendum to be just it must cater, wherever possible, for the minorities.

There should be two types of referenda: those which are general and those which are specific. By referenda which are general I mean that it must cater for the whole population. For instance if a referendum is held to decide on which side the traffic should travel you cannot have some of the traffic travelling on the right and the rest travelling on the left. But in a specific referendum, such as one on divorce, some of the people may want divorce while others do not. The referendum would only indicate if there is a large enough minority that indicates legislation in its favour. For instance if let’s say the results of a referendum show that 25 per cent of the population want divorce, then divorce would be introduced to accommodate the 25 per cent. To do otherwise would be the tyranny of the majority imposed on the minority.

Let’s hope that we shall soon see specific referenda introduced.

Josephine Gatt-Ciancio

KALKARA