Updated | Fenech Adami tables ‘proof’ of multiple ID cards in electoral register in parliament

The opposition is currently in the midst of a “malicious exercise” intended to cast doubt on the seriousness of the country’s identity cards system, knowing full well that there is no crisis and that the structures within Identity Malta – the agency tasked with administering the system – guarantee security within the system, according to a government.

In a statement, it said that yesterday PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami, speaking during parliamentary adjournment, repeated that which already been discussed during a meeting between justice minister Owen Bonnici, officials from Identity Malta and the editors of the Malta Independent without providing any new information.

“What Fenech Adami forgot to mention is that the present government has seen to it, that every citizen in the country is in possession of a valid identity card after these were allowed to expire year after year by the previous administration. Fenech Adami also forgot to mention the fact that the ID card system has been certified as being up to European Standards,” read the statement.

Moreover, it said that the “supposed” identity card crisis revolves around two Maltese individuals and a foreign one, adding that the latter was not able to vote in elections. “Both these cases have already been discussed.”

“In the case of two Maltese citizens, both relate to a category of Identity Cards whose number has the suffix ‘P’. This is because they were not able to present a birth certificate, and with one, as already mentioned, being picked up by Identity Malta’s internal verification systems before the case surfaced in the media,” it said, adding that the electoral commission had been immediately informed.

The second case mentioned by Fenech Adami, it said, had ironically taken place during the previous administration when for one reason or another, the person was given an Identity card in 2007 and another one in 2008.

“Fenech Adami also mentioned a case in which foreign individuals said they were residing in a property that was not theirs. The government has made it clear that in recent years, improvements have been made to improve the procedure in order to combat abuses such as these and considerable progress has been made to the system,” it said.

According to the government, from verifications made by, the first three people named by Fenech Adami had used the address mentioned in a residence permit application filed in 2006, which expired in 2007. The fourth person, it said, is an irregular migrant from Eritrea that is currently receiving humanitarian protection and who has never had a residence permit issued by Identity Malta and who resided in the mentioned address between 2011 and 2013.

“The Opposition should be more serious and mature in its criticism and should stop attacking the country’s institutions for partisan reasons,” it concluded.

Parliamentary Adjournment

Nationalist Party deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami yesterday reiterated claims that there were individuals who appeared more than once in the electoral register, under two different ID card numbers.

Because of this, he said he was tabling pages from of the most recent electoral register in parliament and invited journalist to investigate his claims.

Fenech Adami was speaking during parliamentary adjournment, where he said that these cases were the result of the crisis at Identity Malta, a crisis that both the Prime Minister and justice minister were refusing to acknowledge, he added.

He pointed to two specific entries in both the electoral register relating to local council and MEP elections as well as the general election register which he said proved the alleged crisis at Identity Malta.

Moreover, he said that the situation was all the more serious since some of the ID card numbers had previously belonged to other people.

“The confusion at Identity Malta is so big that is creating problems for many honest residents,” said Fenech Adami. “I have had a lot people express concerns to me about how they were receiving mail addressed to people they did not know.”

In addition to this, the PN deputy leader said he was also aware of individuals who had problems applying for housing subsidies and in some cases who were asked to explain, by the housing authority, why a number of individuals with seemingly foreign surnames were living with them in their residence.

Furthermore, Fenech Adami said accused Identity Malta of having created a “structure” allowing people to end up in the electoral register despite them not fulfilling the criteria necessary in order to be eligible to vote.  

“Had it not been for surveillance by the Nationalist Party, these people would still be eligible to vote,” he said, adding that people from all over the world had ended up in the electoral register.

He stressed that it was clear that these people were not eligible to vote and that, following legal steps taken by the PN, the party was vindicated by the courts which determined 59% of the cases to have been rightfully flagged.