Seven drive-thru voting centres as COVID cases spike

Mar 23 2022

Following a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, a number of drive-thru voting centres for virus positive people and others in quarantine have been set up, bringing up the amount to seven.

People who are positive for COVID or in mandatory quarantine up to Friday 9pm are asked to vote in these centres rather than the polling booth which is indicated on their document. This special arrangement was decided upon ahead of the election to enable such people to vote without introducing risk to others.

The drive-thru voting centres are spread out across Malta. They are as follows:

Voters registered in the 2nd and 4th districts: Smart City, Kalkara
Voters registered in the 1st and 6th districts: MCAST, Paola
Voters registered in the 3rd and 5th districts: Ħal Far, Birżebbuġa
Voters registered in the 7th and 11th districts: Ta’ Qali
Voters registered in the 10th and 12th districts: Pembroke
Voters registered in the 8th and 9th districts: Life Sciences Park, San Ġwann
Voters registered in the 13th district: Xewkija

As of yesterday, there are currently 2,723 active cases in Malta, with 41 in Mater Dei, one of whom is in the ITU.

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Photo Source: MaltaToday, Sahha FB

Young PN candidate has a chat with PL supporters ahead of election

Mar 23 2022

Posting to Facebook, young Nationalist Party candidate Rebekah Cilia was snapshotted speaking to Labour supporters, just days before the general election takes place.

The politician posted to social media saying that as the election draws nearer, ‘it is important to keep in mind that we are all Maltese brothers and sisters. Our political colours should not divide us’.

The interactions occurred in Rabat last Sunday, with Cilia describing the chat as an amazing moment as she campaigns for the Opposition.

This is exactly the type of politics we want and love to see as it brings people together and decreases the tension and often ugly encounters which election campaigns are unfortunately known to bring about.

The post by Rebekah was met with considerable praise, supporting her decision to take to the streets and talk with political opposition. The young candidate forms part of an attempt by the PN to revitalise the party, bringing in even the youngest political candidate in Maltese history, Eve Borg Bonello.

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Court action against Electoral Commission by PN due to prison voting

Mar 23 2022

The Nationalist Party will be taking court action against the Electoral Commission after turning down requests to cancel the early voting which was held at Malta’s prison on Saturday.

The commission decided to turn down the PN request on Tuesday after a day earlier the Opposition said that prisoners sentenced for more than a year of imprisonment had been allowed to vote despite being ineligible. The PN went on to call for another round of voting with reviewed lists of who of the prisoners could in fact vote.

The PN said it will be filing an urgent application requesting the court to order the commission to open the sealed packets listing the persons entitled to vote at the prisons as well as the packets holding the voting documents of those who cast a ballot.

The commission is also being ordered to present a list of prisoners who have been disqualified from voting and the list handed to the commission. The opposition is asking the chief electoral commissioner and the commission declare that they failed in their duty to ensure that thy received the required information from the registrars.

Finally, the Opposition is calling a cancellation of last Saturday’s vote and to hold a new election on the basis of an updated list of prisoners that excludes ineligible voters. With the party asking the court to stop the opening of the ballot box used at the prisons on Saturday until a final decision on the application is taken, general secretary to the party Michael Piccinino said the PN did not want anything to hinder next Saturday’s general election and that the case should thus be addressed with urgency.

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PN election plan to cost €6 billion party reveals – trackless tram €2.8 billion

PN election to cost €6 billion party reveals - trackless tram €2.8 billion

Mar 23 2022

A Nationalist government would spend €6 billion to implement its electoral manifesto. According to projections provided by the party, the plan is set to generate GDP contributions of €42.6 billion (direct and indirect) by 2030.

The party said that the spending will be split into three components. €1.8 billion will be relegated to long-term projects whereas €1.4 billion will be an investment growth fund.

A whopping €2.6 billion will be spent on what the party terms as incremental expenditure on areas like health and social measures. The EU would be funding 49% of the €1.8 billion spent on capital and long term infrastructure.

The PN’s Trackless Tram is set to cost €2.8 billion, with part of this cost included in the €6 billion. As for the party’s pledge to create 10 new economic sectors, it is expected to directly generate 32,500 employments with an average salary of €43,000.

The 10 new sectors, which range from AI to the metaverse, will be funded through government allocations, EU funding and public borrowings. According to the Opposition, already excising sectors like online gaming, will receive a boost which will see them contribute €18 billion over an eight year period.

Saying that it is committed to not increasing taxation ratios, the party is projecting that economic growth will result in an additional €2.7 billion in fiscal revenues. A consultive council will play a role in aligning government spending to priority areas.

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