Malta votes to legalise divorce

One of two remaining countries that still bans dissolution of marriage will now enact a law to implement it.

Malta vote
undefined
People on the Mediterranean island voted ‘Iva’ [Yes] as opposed to ‘Le’ [No] in the choice to legalise divorce [AFP]

Malta, an overwhelmingly Catholic country and the European Union’s smallest member state, has voted in favour of legalising divorce.

Lawrence Gonzi, the prime minister, announced the outcome in Valletta, the capital, on Sunday after a referendum in one of the only two countries where it is still banned.

Gonzi, who campaigned against the introduction of divorce in the run-up to the non-binding referendum, said it was now up the Mediterranean island nation’s parliament to legalise the dissolution of marriage.

“This is not the result that I wished for, but the will of the people has to be respected and parliament should enact a law for the introduction of divorce,” he said.

The divorce measure was passed by a majority of 53.2 per cent of those who cast ballots, although nearly a quarter of eligible voters did not bother to go to the polls, election officials said.

Apart from the Vatican city-state, Malta is one of only two countries in the world – the Philippines is the other – that bans divorce. Chile was the last country to legalise divorce in 2004 after overwhelming public pressure.

Saturday’s non-binding referendum asked Malta’s 306,000 mainly Catholic voters whether parliament should introduce a new law that would allow couples to obtain a divorce after four years of separation.

Legal separation is widespread in , but there are many legal obstacles to re-marrying.

“The yes vote has won and we urge parliamentarians to vote a bill for the introduction of divorce,”  Deborah Schembri, a lawyer who led the “yes” campaign.

‘Choice was clear’

Arthur Galea Salomone, spokesman for the anti-divorce campaign, admitted “the people’s choice was clear, they opted for the introduction of divorce”.

Divorce legislation is likely to squeeze through parliament as Gonzi’s ruling Nationalist Party has the slimmest of majorities – one seat – and analysts have said at least one of his MPs had backed the “yes” campaign.

The Roman Catholic Church did not campaign officially in the referendum.

However, Paul Cremona, Valletta’s archbishop, had warned church goers in a letter they faces a choice between building and destroying family values.

“By this vote, the citizen will either build or destroy. A choice in favour of permanent marriage is an act of faith in the family, built upon a bond of love which cannot be severed,” said the letter, read out at masses.

In addition, priests have reportedly threatened to refuse communion to those who vote “yes” in the referendum.

Marriages can only be annulled by the Catholic Church’s Ecclesiastical Tribunal in a complex and rare procedure that takes around eight years.

The only exception to the divorce ban is for Maltese married to foreign  nationals or Maltese who are permanent residents abroad.

Source: News Agencies