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4 CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 Though it is still too early to predict who could be the winner if Cardona and Zrinzo Azzopardi face each other in an election, the odds fa- vour Cardona, who has increas- ingly shown his ability to raise the adrenaline in an auditorium packed with Labour delegates. In a highly-charged speech at the recent party conference dur- ing which Mizzi was crowned deputy leader, Cardona infa- mously said "if you hit us with the sword we will hit you back with an axe." Cardona started his career as a One journalist and later took up law. He garnered 3,876 first count votes in the last election and was tasked to head the econ- omy ministry. Cardona can lay claim to a number of investments which have been recently an- nounced, including a €55 million investment at the Mediterranean Maritime Hub. Nominations for the post of deputy leader must be submit- ted between Monday 9 May and Tuesday 10 May, with the election being held a month later. The first phase will take place between 9 and 10 June, with the possibility of a run-off one day later if nobody is elected in the first round. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2016 News NOTICE by the Electoral Commission ELECTORAL REGISTER PUBLISHED IN THE GOVERNMENT GAZETTE The Electoral Commission notifies the general public that the revised Electoral Register for General Elections and for Local Councils as well as the European Union Electoral Register have been published in the Government Gazette of the 27th April, 2016. Any person who had the necessary qualifications to be registered as a voter in accordance with the provisions of the General Elections Act (Chap.354), and/or the Local Councils Act (Chap.363) and/or the European Parliament Elections Act (Chap.467), on the closing date 31st March, 2016, and whose name has not been included in the respective Register and every voter whose designation, address or other particulars have not been shown correctly has, according to Art. 39 of the General Elections Act, up to Wednesday 18th May, 2016, to appeal to a Revising Officer to have one's name included or one's particulars corrected in the respective Electoral Register. Any registered voter who: 1. Desires, for any lawful reason, to remove from the register the name of any person for want of the requisite qualification; or 2. Claims that the respective designation, address or other particulars are not correctly shown in the register; may also submit an appeal to a Revising Officer to this effect in accordance with Art. 40 of the General Elections Act, up to Wednesday 18th May, 2016. Any person desiring to appeal to a Revising Officer may seek assistance at the Electoral Office. The attention of the general public is drawn to the importance of verifying their inclusion in the Electoral Register. Failure to do so may result in the loss of a person's entitlement to vote when General and Local Council Elections, Elections for Administrative Committees for Communities and Elections for the European Parliament or Referenda are held. It is also notified that a Revising Officer may order the inclusion of a person's name, or the correction of the designation, address or other particulars or the cancellation of the registration of a voter, notwithstanding that no prior application may have been made to the Commission. A list of persons registered as voters is being made available at the respective Local Council Offices and at District Police Stations. All the registers may be viewed at the Electoral Office. The registers shall be made available for sale as hard copies or on cd from the Department of Information. Besides this, one may check if one is registered as a voter in these registers through the online facility in the Electoral Commission's website, www.electoral.gov.mt. Labour whip warns organ law could pave way for gamete donation TIM DIACONO LABOUR whip Godfrey Farru- gia warned that a proposed law to regulate organ donation could pave the way for sperm and ova donation. The law will allow people to register the organs, tissues and cells that they would or would not like to donate before or af- ter their death. Unlike the cur- rent donor card system, people's wishes will be legally binding. However, Farrugia argued dur- ing Monday's parliamentary de- bate that the word "cell" in the Bill is loosely defined as "human cells not bound by any form of connective tissue", a definition for which sperm and ova could qualify. Moreover, he warned that the bill could actually see sperm and ova donation permitted against a fee. This is because the bill envi- sions the establishment of an or- gan and tissues donation register that will be maintained by the Superintendent of Public Health, who will ensure that all dona- tions are voluntary. However, cells will not be in- cluded in this register. "This law has paved the way for the donation of sperm and ova against a fee, despite such a prac- tice not having been discussed during public consultation phase or during committee stage. The bill is currently ambiguous on sperm and ova donation, and I hope the person who designed the law didn't do so specifically with that in mind." Health minister Chris Fearne denied that the bill was written so as to introduce gamete dona- tion on the sly, and promised to amend the text to clarify it. "I have already come out in fa- vour of gamete donation, but this will be discussed in Parliament at a separate date. We will not use such a well-meaning bill to intro- duce a controversial concept." Farrugia also called for clarity on the conditions through which the harvesting of organs from brain-dead people will be per- mitted. "The protocol should be that organs are harvested from peo- ple with brain stem death, but not from those with cerebrum death," he said. Fearne responded that it will use the Harvard criteria to de- scribe what constitutes brain death. New deputy leader by June Toni Abela (left) and Owen Bonnici are still weighing their options before deciding whether to run for deputy leader Godfrey Farrugia warned that the law could lead to sperm and ova donation against a fee YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt