PL says PN threatens political stability on election votes court case

Final submissions were made this morning as the PN’s court case, in which it is asking to be awarded extra parliamentary seats following a vote-counting mistake in the last general election, continued.

“We are dealing with a case in which a mistake has led to a result which did not reflect the people’s choices. The PN should have been allocated two additional seats,” former PN general secretary and lawyer Paul Borg Olivier told Madam Justice Lorraine Schembri Orland this morning.

He noted that in the 8th and 13th districts the PN had not won the majority of seats, in spite of obtaining the majority of votes.

Borg Oliver argued that the electoral commission should not have simply opened the previous count to correct the mistake, but also the earlier counts - in line with the English version of the law. Borg Olivier cited a 1996 local council election where the law had been interpreted in this way by the commission.

Representing the PL, the party’s deputy leader Toni Abela argued that there were not many legal remedies available to address any mistakes in the electoral process, other than filing a case before the Constitutional Court within three days.

“You are threatening any future legislature with your actions. It is not up to this court to decide on such matters,” he said.

“The PN is saying that any voter may file a complaint in court after three years, which would change the composition of parliament and result in political instability,” he warned.

Abela said that the PN was citing the wrong articles of the law – those dealing with free elections and not those dealing with mistakes during the transfer of votes. He qualified this by adding that the mistakes did not alter the will of the electorate. Every individual voter had the right to file such proceedings, Abela added.  

Abela also pointed out that this case should have been filed before the Constitutional Court and not the Civil Hall in its Constitutional Jurisdiction, as it deals with an “extraordinary law”.

The PL retorted that it was strange that the PN was filing a case against a commission which it had appointed during its time in government. The case should have been instituted against the State, Abela said.