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Backgrounder: Six referendums in Maltese history

Xinhua, April 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

Malta has staged a national abrogative referendum on Spring hunting which falls on Saturday by means of Presidential Writ. Only six referendums have ever been held in the archipelago's history, one of them was a purely local one in Gozo.

In 1870, the first referendum on whether clergy should be eligible to sit in the Council of Government was held in Malta. At the time only a small section of the population (one could call them the landed gentry) had the right to vote. It was approved by 96 percent of voters.

In 1956, Maltese voters were called to cast their votes in a referendum on the Labor government's "Integration with Britain" proposal on Feb. 11-12. The proposals were approved by 77 percent of those who voted, though by less than 60 percent of the total electorate. They were never fully implemented, and the country became independent eight years later.

In 1964, a referendum on a new constitution was held in Malta between May 2 and 4, the electorate was called to answer the question: "Do you approve of the constitution proposed by the Government of Malta, endorsed by the Legislative Assembly, and published in the Malta Gazette?" It was approved by 54.5 percent of voters, and came into effect on Sept. 21 1964. It was effectively a referendum on independence, as the new constitution made the country an independent nation.

In 1973, a referendum was held on Nov. 11 in Gozo on the abolition of the Gozo Civic Council, only voters registered in Gozo could cast their vote. The majority of the few who voted were in favor, but the Gozo Civic Council instructed the Gozitans to boycott the referendum precisely because of the loaded nature of the question.

In 2003, a referendum on joining the European Union (EU) was held in Malta on March 8. A narrow majority voted in favor of joining but the opposition Labor Party rejected the results.

The victory of the Nationalist Party in the 2003 general election confirmed the result of the referendum and Malta joined the EU on May 1, 2004. The Maltese referendum saw the highest turnout, and the lowest support for joining, of any of the nine countries that held referendums on joining the EU in 2003.

In 2011, the divorce referendum was held in Malta on May 28 to consult the electorate on the introduction of divorce, and resulted in a majority of the voters approving legalisation of divorce.

At that time, Malta was one of the only three countries in the world where divorce was not permitted. As a consequence of the referendum outcome, a law allowing divorce under certain conditions was enacted in the same year. Parliament approved the law on July 25. The law came into effect on Oct. 1, 2011. Endit