Cassola denied logo on ballot sheet, cries foul at Electoral Commission

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola is crying foul over being denied the use of his logo.

The former Alternattiva Demokratika candidate, now running on his own steam, said the Electoral Commission had denied him the use of his logo on the ballot sheet for the European elections.

Cassola said the Commission is quoting the General Elections Act and the Local Councils Act in insisting that he has no right to a logo. 

The paragraph reads that “if given to him/her by a party that he is representing, the logo can be printed on the ballot sheet immediately before the name of the candidate as approved by the Commission, showing a political party that the candidate represents, or if it in any way might help the voter identify the candidate.”

Indeed, Article 21 of the European Elections Act states that the provisions of the General Elections Act apply unless there are any exceptions as listed in Schedule 2 of the EP elections law.

Cassola is insisting the EC’s argument is the weakest argument in logic. “What the Commission is implying is that if the law states that dogs should not be ill-treated, then it means that all other animals can be treated badly.”

Arnold Cassola's logo

The independent green candidate said that, after all, he was not contesting either a general or a local council election. “I am asking now for the specific paragraph in the European Elections Act which prohibits independent candidates from having a logo on the ballot sheet,” he said. “The further the disadvantages imposed on him, the greater the moral strength behind him and his voters.”