Medical patients’ lists only accessible to parties one week before election

Patients' data cannot be collected by the Electoral Commission before the Monday preceding the 9 March election, the Information and Data Protection Commissioner said.

In his reply to Alternattiva Demokratika's request to cease the collection of data of hospitalised persons, the commissioner recommended that "the Electoral Commission should require the submission of data, in terms of article 82 of the General Elections Act, not earlier than as from the Monday before polling day."

Last month, Alternattiva Demokratika had declared that recent amendments to the General Elections Act will allow parties access to patients' lists records.

The party's deputy chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said recent amendments to the General Elections Act were in conflict with the provisions of the Data Protection Act.

In a meeting held in December with the Chief Electoral Commissioner in view of the amendments to the General Elections Act, Cacopardo said the amendments require that state hospitals as well as old people's homes will be submitting regular, updated list of patients and inmates to the political parties for the purposes of monitoring the electoral process.

The complaint submitted by Alternattiva Demokratika questioned  "the purpose of providing such lists of patients in hospitals, so early before the polling day when, I would say, the majority of those patients will be returning home before polling day and will not be casting their vote at the hospital."

Cacopardo welcomed the recommendation of the commissioner whose recommendation "cuts down to size the draconian provisions of the law which was agreed to unanimously in Parliament thereby protecting patients from the unwarranted intrusion of political parties."