Watch: Bjorn Formosa Explains How He Broke The Law When Casting His Vote Last Weekend
Leading ALS activist Bjorn Formosa has admitted he broke the law when casting his vote during last weekend’s election, with his wife secretly writing down his voting preference on his ballot sheet.
As it stands, people like Formosa who cannot use their hands aren’t allowed to bring someone they trust with them into the voting booth to write down their vote on their behalf and must instead vocalise their voting preference to PL and PN agents.
In a TikTok video, Formosa said he felt uncomfortable with that arrangement as he wanted to enjoy the same right to privacy that every other Maltese citizen enjoys.
@bjornformosa We’ve made something illegal! #election #votingrights #disability ♬ original sound – Bjorn Formosa
“Maria managed to write down my vote for me but we had to do it quickly so we don’t get caught, so she just wrote my 1 [under my favourite candidate] as fast as possible. No person with a disability should feel they have to break the law when voting.”
Formosa had raised this issue last November during a discussion with PL candidate and former MP Oliver Scicluna.
“Oliver and I both agree that this law should change as soon as possible, and it’s time for politicians to show compassion with people in need,” Formosa said back then.
Oliver Scicluna
Scicluna had also flagged this anomaly in Malta’s electoral system in Parliament, recounting how Joe Debono, a TV presenter who suffered from ALS, had informed him about it a few weeks before he died.
“The disease took away his ability to use his hands, and he asked me why our electoral system won’t let him take someone whom he trusts to the voting booth to help him vote,” Scicluna said, adding that he promised Debono to work to make his wish a reality.
Lovin Malta last year published ‘A Little Smile’, a documentary into Bjorn Formosa’s life, and you can watch it below.
Should Malta’s voting system be updated?
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