PN takes Electoral Commission case before constitutional court

The Nationalist Party has taken the Electoral Commission case to the constitutional court in order to determine whether the Commission’s investigation into party financing constitutes a breach in human rights.

The PN is being accused of breaching party financing rules, with the hotel group owned by Silvio Debono - db Group - claiming that it was asked to pay salaries of the PN executives, through donations that were “paid” to the PN’s media company Media.Link, but which were not backed up by actual commercial services rendered.

The PN argues that it is unacceptable for the Electoral Commission to carry out an investigation into the allegation on account that the majority of members on the Commission were nominated by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

“They would simply vote for whatever benefits the Prime Minister,” the party said in a statement.

The all-male electoral commission includes four members appointed by the Opposition

The move follows an announcement made by the PN earlier this month that “four electoral commissioners” wrote a letter to the President of the Republic in which they said that the investigation on donations received by the PN is in breach of the Constitution and the European Convention of Human Rights.

PN also pointed to a recent court ruling, which stated that the court was solely competent to pass judgment, in order to ensure that such a decision was impartial.

“The Nationalist Party insists that any investigation should be carried out in a proper and impartial manner. For this reason, the party has asked the court to determine whether or not the Electoral Commission’s investigation constitutes a breach in fundamental human rights,” the party said.

PN added that it had brought up the issue of the Electoral Commission’s impartiality during the parliamentary debate on the Party Financing Bill, but that the government had ignored the concerns.