Siġġiewi gerrymandering: court orders reversal of addresses for government tenants

A court has ordered that some 99 people who switched their current address to that of a government housing block in Siġġiewi still under construction, have their identity card reverted to their original registered addresses.

The tenants switched their registered address to the government housing block in Mdina Street, which is yet to be completed, leading the Nationalist Party to file 99 court applications asking the court to switch the residents’ addresses back to their current homes.

The party accused Labour of gerrymandering the Siġġiewi locality by making sure it retains its majority in the locality, which the PL won in 2019 with a majority of just 70 votes.

PN leader Bernard Grech welcomed the court’s decision, insisting that the party fought for what was right. “The Nationalist Party is the only shield in favour of democracy. After weeks of hearings, in front of 22 different magistrates, the Nationalist Party won all the appeals it made against electoral fraud that the Labour government tried to carry out in an attempt to steal the Siġġiewi local council. The Nationalist Party demands that political responsibility be taken in this case of electoral fraud,” he said.

Malita, a government company, is the landlord of the social housing block that has been at the centre of controversy after prospective tenants had their ID cards transferred their despite not living there. The company is a special purpose vehicle that finances, builds and manages government estates.

On 15 May, Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech ordered that the voters’ official addresses be transferred back to their current place of residence and instructed the police to investigate the matter. The magistrate had conducted an onsite visit of the block to confirm for herself that no one was living there despite the changes to the ID cards.

In her judgment, the magistrate said voters were manipulated to have their ID cards transferred to the Siggiewi block. She also noted that officials from Identita, the government agency responsible for ID cards, had gone to the site under Malita CEO Jennifer Falzon’s orders to carry out the ID card changes.

In a statement, Malita Investments denied having committed any wrongdoing.

“The Company and its CEO unequivocally deny any allegations of wrongdoing. They assert that neither the Company nor its CEO has been involved in the process of changing identity card addresses. No instructions were ever given to Identita’ Agency officials on behalf of the Company,” the statement said.

“The only meetings organised by the Company were with prospective tenants entitled to housing units, specifically for the purpose of handing over the premises and completing the necessary forms for changes in water and electricity services.”

Malita Investments said that it is taking the allegations very seriously and referred the matter to the police requesting an immediate investigation.