Malta’s President Must Remove Delia But What Comes Next Could Be Challenging, Experts Warn
All eyes are on Malta’s President George Vella with a constitutional crisis erupting within the Nationalist Party and legal experts, like Profs Kevin Aquilina and Franco Debono, are urging him to act.
Speaking to Lovin Malta, Aquilina, a constitutional law expert, explained that Malta’s constitution clearly states that if the Opposition Leader loses the faith of the parliamentary group at any point in the legislature, the President is obliged to act and remove him from the role.
This was echoed by Debono, a constitutional lawyer, who said that while party statutes say that the Leader should be the Party Leader and the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group, and serve as either Prime Minister or Opposition Leader, the rules went against the constitution.
“It is the highest law in the country and any law or regulation that goes against the Constitution is null and void,” Debono said.
Delia lost the confidence vote on Tuesday evening with nineteen members of the parliamentary group (two MEPs) voting against him, with just 10 (11 if Delia is included) backing the leader.
However, he has vowed to stay on as PN and Opposition Leader until the end of the legislature, insisting that the PN’s paid-up members had elected him to the role of leader.
Still, both Aquilina and Debono insist that the President has the constitutional obligation to act.
Aquilina said that the President’s first step should be the assure the authenticity of the vote. Several sources have suggested that the President should contact each individual MP.
However, Aquilina insists that in this unprecedented juncture, bringing in Delia and the two who presented and seconded the motion for a confidence vote (Chris Said and Therese Comodini Cachia) should be enough.
Lovin Malta is informed that Vella has reached out to Chris Said. However, sources have questioned why Vella is not contacting each member as he has done with the Labour Party parliamentary group as he has done in December.
Asked about the delay in taking a position, Aquilina explained that the current situation is unprecedented to Malta and the President could be examining legal precedents in other countries.
What comes after the President potentially decides to remove Delia as Opposition Leader is far more complicated, Aquilina said. Malta’s President will be duty-bound to ensure that someone occupies the constitutional role.
There is no precedent to how the President would go about selecting the next opposition leader and could present a major issue moving forward, that could even last months.
Aquilina stressed that Opposition Leader and Party Leader are completely different things, with the constitution making absolutely no mention that the Party Leader must occupy the role.
“The constitution simply says that it is the person who enjoys the majority of support among the Opposition MPs,” Aquilina said.
Malta has had a separate Party Leader and Opposition Leader in the past, but not in such acrimonious circumstances.
In June 2008, former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was elected as Labour Party Leader. However, it was Charles Mangion who was the sitting Leader of the Opposition following Alfred Sant’s resignation.
Mangion would continue occupying the post up until October 2008 when Joseph Cuschieri vacated his seat to make way for Muscat and allow him to become Leader of the Opposition.
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