The new political party Volt Malta has said that the country should allow citizens who live abroad to be able to vote through an embassy, consulate or mail. Given the COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions and the next general election around the corner, the Maltese branch of the pan-European Volt movement issued a statement urging the government not to forget Maltese living abroad. This is especially the case for those who do not meet Malta’s vaccination requirements for entry without a mandatory quarantine.
This also concerns Maltese citizens who have received their jab in a country whose vaccine certificate is not yet recognised or those who were previously sick and received only one dose instead of two. For the country they are living in, these individuals are fully vaccinated, but this is not the practice adopted in Malta. Volt Malta also expressed its belief that nobody should be left behind and that the right to vote in an election is one which shouldn’t be taken lightly.
The uncertainty and changing context around the pandemic, Volt Malta expressed, might discourage people from exercising their right to vote. Kass Mallia, the party’s Vice President, said that as a Maltese citizen, ‘you have a right to vote, and as such, it should be the obligation of the government to make that possible even while you are abroad.’
Alexia DeBono, party Co-President, said that we also have to keep in mind vulnerable people, both in Malta and abroad who would risk compromising their health by going to an embassy or flying to Malta. ‘That is why we need to introduce both voting from abroad, and postal voting.’
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