An investigation into alleged electoral fraud must be held, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday.
A former Labour Party activist made certain allegations in a court application as part of a corruption case centred around the top officials at Transport Malta. The activist turned whistleblower claimed knowledge of kickbacks in an illegal identity and citizenship scheme. Maltese citizens of foreign nationality, it was alleged, were not issued with a death certificate upon their demise, but instead their id cards were transferred onto other naturalised persons with the intention of having them vote for Labour. Adel Ali Hassan claimed his residence permit was revoked in October 2021 after having refused to assist the then-minister responsible for identity and citizenship, Alex Muscat, in his electoral campaign for 2022.
Identity Malta has denied the allegations and said that the man's residence permit in Malta was not revoked but was not renewed by himself. PL MP Alex Muscat has also denied the allegations.
Bernard Grech, speaking during an interview on Net FM on Sunday, said that while it is important to understand that these are currently only allegations, they are very serious ones. "This is a very serious situation ... This man is alleging that during the elections from 2013 and onwards the Labour Party (PL) has been using fraudulent methods which allowed for individuals who were not supposed to vote due to having passed away to still vote because other people were using their identities." He said that if such a thing is true, this act would be a threat to the country's foundation of democracy.
The opposition leader criticised the Government's response to the situation. He said that these allegations should be taken very seriously and investigated extensively. "The electoral commission said that they don't have anything to do with it and we haven't heard anything since."
"An investigation has to happen," Grech said. "This is an ugly allegation hanging over the head of Robert Abela, the Labour Party, and the government." He criticised Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa, adding that he needs to "wake up" and investigate these allegations "without looking at anyone's face ... he's scared of stepping on people's toes". Grech said that Gafa is supposed to be taking action, but is not doing so. "The responsibility is on Angelo Gafa and Robert Abela." Regarding the PL's response to the allegations, he said that the choice to reply with a partisan attack was shameful. He said that the Prime Minister has an obligation towards the Maltese and Gozitan people as this is a serious allegation towards Identity Malta and the Electoral Commission and that all those involved must shoulder the responsibility if the claims are proven true.
On the issue of waste management and power outages, Grech said that these are serious problems relevant to the quality of life in the country. "The Government of the last ten years has pushed for quantity, which has led to a loss of quality." He said that the Prime Minister has continued to bring in foreigners from outside the European Union to continue feeding the quantity-focused economy and lower the quality as a result. "These politics will bring the country to its knees ... The population has doubled in ten years." Grech said that if the Government has the statistics for Malta's population, then they are hiding it or it is incorrect. "It may be the case that they don't even know how many people are in the country." He said, also making reference to several cases of groups of people being found living in Malta undocumented. "This is a Government that has kept bringing in foreigners and trampling on the Maltese and Gozitan people ... We have an inefficient system for a population that continues to grow rapidly, that's what happens when you put strain on infrastructure without investing."
The opposition leader said that Malta needs to go in the direction of an economy focused on quality which attracts skilled workers of quality and does not need the import of unskilled foreign labour. "Focus on quality over quantity," Grech said, adding that the Nationalist Party (PN)'s economic model is not in line with Robert Abela's vision. He added that the country needs an economic model emphasising strong economic pillars where there is no need for the mass import of unskilled foreign labour. "Let us live in a modern country, where you live better and you can go to the hospital or school and be served."
Bernard Grech has resorted to lies - PL
The leader of the opposition has chosen to base his policy on lies in an attempt to cover up his lack of political offerings, the Labour Party (PL) said in a statement issued in response to Bernard Grech’s NET FM interview on Sunday.
The PL said that Grech’s comments were a result of an internal crisis within the Nationalist Party (PN) and that no one believes his “inventions”. The PL also referred to Grech’s comments regarding Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa’s response to the alleged voter fraud situation. “Even today he fell into the absurdity of his party’s media quoting the Police Commissioner and at the same time he says that the police did not speak.”
The Labour Party said that these claims and comments are a series of lies and that these allegations of “dead people who according to him voted” are false.
The PL made mention of a recent situation where Grech was not allowed entry into a PN club in Hamrun, referring to him as “irrelevant in the Nationalist Party”. It concluded by declaring that “this is the politics of those who are desperate and have not learned anything”.