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MALTATODAY 2 December 2018

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Newspaper post YOUR FIRST READ AND CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY • 2 DECEMBER 2018 • ISSUE 995 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY SUNDAY • 2 DECEMBER 2018 • ISSUE 995 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY maltatoday SUNDAY • 2 DECEMBER 2018 • ISSUE 995 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY today today • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY today • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Eyes on the prize, Chris Fearne charms delegates and courts business 2 INSIDE LABOUR Ministers shoot down voting rights proposal for migrants PAUL COCKS A proposal to give third coun- try nationals and non-EU mi- grant workers the possibility to vote in local council elections, was "shot down" by ministers during a Cabinet meeting ear- lier on Tuesday. Government sources told MaltaToday that EU affairs and equality minister He- lena Dalli found no support among a majority of Cabinet colleagues when she asked for the go-ahead to launch a study into the possibility of allowing foreigners from outside the EU residing in Malta to vote in lo- cal council elections after 2019. The reaction of the other ministers appears to have been particularly vocal and vehe- ment, with one senior minister describing the idea as "mad", while another minister asking if "we wanted an African may- or in Marsa" – the source said. MaltaToday was shown a copy of Dalli's position paper, en- titled "Voting Rights in Local Elections for Third-Country Nationals (TCNs)", in which she says that promoting TCNs' participation in local politics would portray Malta as a coun- try open to immigration. This, the minister said in the paper's introduction, would be in line with the Migrant Inte- gration Strategy and Action 2017-2020 – however such vot- ing rights do not feature in the actual strategy. A ministry source who spoke to MaltaToday admitted that the proposal is not part of the government's integration plans, but was advanced as a discussion point. "Promoting TCNs' politi- cal participation is the sign of a confident country that is open to immigration, whereas restrictive policies disenfran- chise those who contribute to the country's development," Dalli's paper to the Cabinet reads. DEPUTY prime minister Chris Fearne's aggressive campaign to position himself for a poten- tial leadership race has forced the Labour Party to admonish canvassers using Labour head- quarters to carry out their cam- paigning. Both party aides and a govern- ment source said Labour chief executive officer Randolph De Battista had instructed PL em- ployees that there can be no canvassing for potential leader- ship contenders from the party HQ. A party source pointed to- wards one employee, Isa- belle Busuttil, as having been refused permis- sion to canvass for Fearne. Fearne's bridge- building cam- paign is being led by former PL candidate Car- men Ciantar, a po- litically-appointed chief executive of- ficer of the Foun- dation for Medical Services, which falls under Fearne's pur- view. PAGE 3 PAGE 2 2 INSIDE 2 High Festa Jinks Teatru Malta's latest production 'Il-Madonna Tieghi Ahjar Minn Tieghek' INSIDE MaltaToday2 HERITAGE MALTA CEO Noel Zammit Why children need to be proud of their cultural heritage INTERVIEW 16-17 Proposal to study prospect of allowing non-EU nationals to vote in local council elections turned down by Cabinet As part of a much-needed and bold integration strategy, equality minister Helena Dalli requested that she convene a study group to explore giving voting rights to non-EU nationals, but some ministers did not take took kindly to her proposal 2 INSIDE 2 GOSPEL QUEEN X Factor contestant & Miss World Malta Michela Galea MT2 €1.95

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