Cassola files judicial protest, says gender corrective mechanism is discriminatory

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola says that the gender corrective mechanism discriminates against candidates who do not contest the election with the two major parties

Arnold Cassola is challenging the gender corrective mechanism, which he says discriminates against candidates who are not part of the PL and PN
Arnold Cassola is challenging the gender corrective mechanism, which he says discriminates against candidates who are not part of the PL and PN

Arnold Cassola said in a judicial protest that the recently approved gender corrective mechanism breaches the right to association and threatens the principle of free elections.

Cassola, who intends contesting the next general election as an independent candidate, said the mechanism is discriminatory in his regard and others who are not part of the two major political parties.

The gender corrective mechanism, which aims to restore parity between the sexes in parliament, only kicks in if two political parties are elected to the House.

In a judicial protest signed by lawyer Claire Bonello, Cassola asked the State Advocate to annul, revoke and withdraw the constitutional amendments.

The amendments were recently approved in parliament with the backing of both sides of the House, although the government side had rejected a Nationalist Party proposal to have the mechanism kick in even if more than two parties elect MPs. The PN proposal, however, had sat a threshold of five seats for the third party to benefit from the mechanism.

The new system will see up to 12 additional seats being added to boost the number of MPs from the under-represented sex after the election result is known. However, it will only apply if two parties are elected.

Cassola said people like him will be discriminated against. He has contested every general election since 1992, and every European Parliament election since 2004. He always contested as an Alternattiva Demokratika candidate apart from the last EP election in 2019, when he ran as an independent candidates, obtaining 2,200 first count votes and 2,900 at the last count.

Earlier this week, ADPD said it will challenge the mechanism in the constitutional court