Latest divorce poll confirms, the devil’s in the referendum question

A new survey by the Sunday Times has confirmed the importance of giving citizens a carefully-worded and honest question on whether they would want Malta to introduce divorce or not.

The Sunday Times survey results show how 58 per cent would support a proposal to introduce divorce for people who have been separated for four years – if asked specifically whether they want such a divorce legislation.

However, 48 per cent said they favoured having a direct ‘yes’ or ‘no’ referendum question, as against those who favour certain circumstances to be outlined (46 per cent).

In a survey carried out by MaltaToday last month - after Labour proposed a motion to hold a referendum before a parliamentary debate on divorce law - a majority of 50.2% said they would vote yes to the question “Should divorce be introduced for persons who have lived apart from their partners for the past four years, how would you vote?”, which reflected the proposal tabled in parliament.

The figure showed a drop of 9.2 per cent from a similar survey carried out last August, when support for divorce reached an all time high of 59.4 per cent.

In that survey carried on 16 August, 2010, MaltaToday’s results contrasted with one produced by the Sunday Times a week earlier which had failed to account for people who favour divorce only in certain circumstances.

In that case the Sunday Times had asked respondents how they would vote in a generic referendum asking them whether divorce should be introduced or not, MaltaToday instead asked respondents how they would vote in a referendum based on Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s private member’s bill, which limits divorce to persons who have lived apart from their partner for at least four years in the last five.

The surveys now confirm this legislative proposal allays popular fears of a Las Vegas style divorce, which clearly does not enjoy popular support. It could also indicate that the electorate responds differently to different divorce proposals and that only a minority of respondents oppose divorce on ideological grounds.

This shows the importance of what kind of question is posed to the electorate if a referendum is held.