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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 18 JUNE 2017 5 Anglu Farrugia to continue serving as Speaker of the House OSCE warned of 'vote-buying' TIM DIACONO MALTESE stakeholders told the Organisation for Security and Co- Operation (OSCE) in Europe of their confidence in the impartial- ity and professionalism of Malta's election administration, but some had flagged attempts by candidates to buy votes. This emerges in an OSCE Needs Assessment Mission report, draft- ed by a team that monitored Mal- ta's pre-election environment for three days in May following an in- vitation by the Maltese authorities. The team spoke to representa- tives of all political parties, as well as to the Electoral Commission, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the police, the Constitutional Court, the Department of Information, the media, the Broadcasting Au- thority, the National Audit Office, and the Permanent Commission Against Corruption. Although the OSCE didn't specify what each stakeholder told them, its report stated that the interlocu- tors expressed confidence in the impartiality and professionalism of the Electoral Commission and its ability to organise elections in an effective manner, as well as in the impartiality of the electoral dispute resolution system. But the OSCE was told of the high level of political polarisation in the country, which, in their view, could have impacted on various aspects of the electoral process, including media coverage and the campaign. Although no party warned that it was unable to campaign freely, some stakeholders raised concerns of potential "vote-buying" by can- didates through the distribution of food parcels to their constituents, an issue that had been flagged by the PN in its campaign. Some also expressed concerns regarding the accuracy of the civil registration data and the voter reg- ister, citing media reports of po- tential multiple entries of citizens, and the inclusion of a few people who did not comply with residen- cy requirements or had incorrect photos on their voting documents. The OSCE said that while the authorities acknowledged certain anomalies in this regard, they em- phasized that such cases were lim- ited and under review and should not affect the integrity of the voter registration process. Both Labour and PN said that they were satisfied with the alloca- tion of airtime on PBS; each were granted 120 minutes of broadcast- ing time for airing campaign spots, as well as three televised debates. However, smaller parties – who were only granted 20 minutes each to air their campaign spots as well as one debate amongst each other – expressed concern that they were unfairly disadvantaged. Smaller parties had also opined that their campaign initiatives were being overshadowed by the high level of political confrontation between the two main parties. A full post-election report will be issued next month, based on the experience of OSCE members de- ployed to a small number of polling stations on election day. MIRIAM DALLI ANGLU Farrugia is set to retain his consti- tutional post, with Prime Minister Joseph and the PL parliamentary group expected to nominate him to continue serving as Speak- er of the House of Representatives. The nomination will be announced in the coming days, after Tuesday's casual election, when Labour's parliamentary group is fully elected. A government spokesperson confirmed with MaltaToday that Farrugia will stay on as Speaker of the House. The Malta Independent on Friday claimed that former tourism minister Edward Zam- mit Lewis, who hopes to be elected via Tues- day's casual election, was being earmarked to replace Farrugia should he fail to get elected. But Farrugia, who served as Speaker for the first time in the previous legislature, en- joys the full backing of the Prime Minister. Contacted by MaltaToday, Farrugia said he had no comments to make at this stage, adding no official talks with the Prime Min- ister have been held, as yet. When parliament opens for the 13th leg- islature on Saturday 24 June, the first item on the agenda will be the election of the Speaker. According to Article 59 of the Constitution and parliament's standing orders, the House has to elect a person to be the Speaker of the House before it proceeds to any other busi- ness. The House will also elect an MP, who is not a minister or a parliamentary secre- tary, to be the deputy speaker. It has become practice that the deputy speaker is nominated from the opposition benches. It is as yet unknown whom the PN parliamentary group plans to nominate. "The party is waiting for the results of the casual elections to be able to choose a shad- ow cabinet, which will also include the nom- ination of the deputy speaker," a spokesper- son for the PN had told MaltaToday earlier this week. The PN's casual elections are taking place on Wednesday. Farrugia was nominated Speaker in 2013, a few months after resigning as PL deputy leader. YOU ASKED US TO ELIMINATE RESTRICTIONS ON ONLINE SUBSCRIPTIONS WE DELIVERED Putting you at the heart of Europe Our digital single market strategy ensures that by 2018, you can enjoy your favourite online content, anywhere in the EU, as if you were at home. News Election observers told of high political polarization in pre-electoral mission Speaker Anglu Farrugia