MALTA: Maltese Prime Minister Mr Eddie Fenech Adami yesterday called a general election for April 12th, just four days before the Mediterranean island is due to join nine other countries in signing the EU accession treaty.
The election is seen as the final, decisive test of whether the country of 400,000 will take its place as the smallest country in the EU. The government's Yes campaign narrowly won the referendum on EU membership on Saturday, with 53.6 per cent of valid votes cast. The ruling Nationalist Party now hopes a general election will provide conclusive endorsement of it pro-EU stance.
"The people have decided very clearly and unequivocally in favour of EU membership," Mr Fenech Adami told a news conference yesterday.
He said he had chosen the closest possible date to the signing of the EU accession treaty "to eliminate uncertainty so that the country may continue to move forward in its preparations for EU membership".
Opposition leader Mr Alfred Sant, whose Labour Party opposes EU membership, has refused to concede defeat in Saturday's referendum, arguing that the Yes tally represented only 48 per cent of the electorate.
Mr Fenech Adami countered that Mr Sant had arrived at the 48 per cent figure through an "absurd" calculation that included some 1,000 registered voters who had died since the electoral rolls were drawn up.
The Labour Party had urged its supporters to vote No, or to spoil their ballot or not vote at all. Few voters chose the third option, with turnout at 91 per cent.
Labour says that if it takes power again it would seek a partnership with the EU rather than membership. It argues that complying with EU regulations would dent Malta's competitiveness, and raise prices and joblessness.
The government argues that Malta, as a small country with no natural resources, is naturally destined for EU membership.
- (Reuters)