‘AG should not be part of election court case’

The Nationalist Party yesterday argued the Attorney General should not be involved in a case in which it is claiming a breach of human rights after counting mistakes gave the Labour Party a nine-seat majority in the general election. The Electoral Commission is requesting that the AG be called into the proceedings. However, Therese Comodini Cachia, appearing for the PN, said its complaint was with the commission and not the Executive, to which the Attorney General was answerable. The issue revolves around two mistakes in the counting process. A packet of 50 votes for PN candidate Claudette Buttigieg (née Pace) was transferred to PN candidate Michael Asciak, who got eliminated resulting in the election of Labour’s Edward Scicluna instead. In another blunder, 10 votes belonging to PN candidate Frederick Azzopardi went missing, helping Labour’s Justyne Caruana get elected. The mistakes, which are not being contested, would not have made a difference as such human errors are taken into account through well-researched mathematical formulae, the electoral commission is arguing. This is the second time the issue has been taken to court. A PN request for a recount in the respective...