Cassola tells non-voters: ‘talk to me’

Arnold Cassola will continue his political work and is inviting non-voters to talk to him after achieving the best election result for an independent candidate since 1951.

His appeal is to the 60,000 voters who stayed at home or cancelled their vote in March’s general election, which saw the Labour Party win by a landslide.

Cassola contested as an independent on the 10th and 11th districts, obtaining a combined vote tally of 904 on the first count in an election that saw more than 9,000 voters opt for independents and third parties.

“I will continue my political work for the welfare of the country, strengthened by the result I had. I invite you to speak to me. There’s a lot to discuss and plan together, and I’m sure you have a lot to offer,” Cassola said in his appeal to non-voters.

The former Alternattiva Demokratika chair said that “something has happened that has never happened before”, noting the lowest election turnout ever and the high percentage of annulled votes.

“One in five voters this year has sent a message that they are unhappy with the way things are going. At the same time, despite this vote, everything has remained the same. The third party, despite a national quota, remains unrepresented in parliament… Life goes on, but what happened in the last election has not gone unnoticed,” Cassola said.

He urged abstainers and those who voted differently for the first time to approach him. “I’m interested in hearing your views,” he said.

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