Election Holiday
The European Parliament’s
election is just round the corner. Votes
are already being distributed while arrangements are being made for Maltese
living abroad to come to vote in Malta.
The later arrangement
makes me sick as this is nothing but giving a cheap holiday in Malta to those
Maltese who are living abroad. The
problem is that indirectly it is you and me who are subsidizing this
holiday. I do not know who is paying for
this subsidy, whether it is the government of Malta
or Air Malta. For me it is just the same as the Government
of Malta pays out of the taxation I pay while if it is Air Malta, I will be paying this subsidy through higher
prices Air Malta
charges.
But does this mean that we
should deny those Maltese living abroad the right to vote? Definitely not. A simple arrangement would be to provide
voting facilities to these Maltese in the Malta Embassies. If the political parties feel that they
should monitor the voting in these locations there would be nothing to stop the
political parties to have representatives as long as they pay for their
stay.
In this way, the rights of
all – local taxpayers, Maltese living abroad and the political parties – would
have their right secured.