Referendum could be part of pro-life arsenal

Robert Abela said his government will not water down the principles underpinning its proposal to decriminalise abortion if a woman’s health or life is at risk.

The Prime Minister has suggested the Bill may be tweaked but it remains to be seen what will change. In all likeliness, unless Abela buckles under pressure, the Bill could very well become law before the end of the year.

Opponents to the Bill, which include the Nationalist Party, religious groups, pro-life doctors, former politicians from both sides of the House and others, have upped the ante over the past couple of weeks.

After organising a well-attended protest in Valletta last Sunday and a vigil outside parliament last Wednesday, it is unlikely the opponents will let go.

Last Monday, during a debate on TVM’s Xtra, Peppi Azzopardi, one of the prominent faces of the anti-abortion movement, voiced a personal opinion that if the government amendment goes through, an attempt should be made to repeal it through an abrogative referendum.

So far, talk of a referendum has been confined to personal views but it could become a plausible option for the opponents of the abortion amendment.

The abrogative referendum was last used by environmental campaigners in 2015 to try and repeal the legal notice that makes spring hunting possible.

But what would it entail to hold an abrogative referendum?

Petitioners will need to collect at least 35,500 verified signatures, asking for Clause 243B in the Criminal Code (the new clause being proposed by government) to be repealed. The law regulating referenda does not set a timeline by when these signatures must be collected.

But once the threshold is reached, a lengthy legal process kicks off with its own timeframes dictated by law. Signatures will be verified, the Constitutional Court will get involved and hear submissions from proponents of the referendum and objectors, and finally a decision is taken on the legality of the referendum request. Following the court’s ruling, the President will then set a date for the referendum.

This lengthy process, including the eventual campaign leading up to voting day, could last anywhere between 10 months and 13 months.

This means if opponents to the Bill hit the ground running in January, depending on how long they take to collect the signatures, Malta could possibly head to a referendum by year’s end. At the latest, this process could stretch into the first couple of months of 2024.

Unless the referendum process starts at a later stage in 2023, the timeframes dictated by law will not coincide with the European Parliament election in May 2024.

And opponents to the Bill will most likely not want a referendum to be held on the same day as the EP election so as not to confuse the issues.

This is just a hypothetical scenario for the time being but one that can develop over the coming months if the anti-abortion lobby digs its heels in.

TIMELINE 

Petition signed by not less than 10% of registered electorate is presented to the Electoral Commission 

15 days 

Electoral Commission verifies validity of signatures and deposits the declarations in the Constitutional Court 

2 days 

Constitutional Court publishes in the Government Gazette the petition details 

3 months 

Any registered voter and the Attorney General on behalf of the government can file an application with the Constitutional Court and object to the referendum being held. Prime Minister, Opposition leader, referendum proposers and all objectors are notified of objections. 

1 month 

Any person notified with objection can file a right of reply. 

10 days 

Right of replies are served to all recipients 

1 month 

Constitutional court has a month to decide when it is to hold a hearing for submissions to be made viva voce but the law does not bind the court when the hearing should take place. Court can also decide no hearing needs to take place because replies and counter-replies are enough for it to reach a decision. In the latter case, a decision will have to be delivered within 2 months. 

No timeframe  

Court hearing: Hearing will continue on consecutive days until all submissions are heard. 

1 month 

The Constitutional Court delivers its judgment as to whether the referendum can go ahead. 

10 days 

Constitutional court decision is delivered to the President, who then fixes the referendum date and issues the writ to kick-start the process. 

3 months to 6 months 

Referendum Day is set at a minimum of three months and a maximum of six months. This will determine how long the referendum campaign will last. 

Referendum Day is between 10 months and 13 months from when petition is submitted with Electoral Commission