Labour seeks Vitals magistrate’s recusal on Siġġiewi social housing block cases
Magistrate Gabriella Vella has refused the request
Magistrate Gabriella Vella has turned down a request by the Labour Party to recuse herself in several cases filed by the Nationalist Party to correct the electoral details of soon-to-be Siġġiewi tenants who switched their official addresses to yet-uninhabitable residences.
Times of Malta revealed last month that a social housing block that is still under construction had 99 people registered to vote at that address, despite no one yet actually living in the building.
The PN filed court applications calling for corrections to the electoral register in such a manner as to reflect the actual home addresses of some 99 voters.
Those applications were assigned to various magistrates, including Magistrate Gabriella Vella.
Six of the cases were scheduled for a first hearing yesterday.
But the Labour Party, represented by its president, Ramona Attard, voiced a request for the recusal of Magistrate Vella in light of the “public controversy” sparked in relation to the magistrate’s work on the Vitals inquiry. That inquiry “identified
members and representatives of the Labour Party” and issues arose over the timing of the conclusion of that inquiry, which appeared to be linked to the June 8 elections.
Those elections were the subject matter of the electoral applications which Magistrate Vella was now called upon to decide and that was why the party – as intervenor in the proceedings – was seeking her recusal, argued lawyer Pawlu Lia.
Vella, who oversaw the recently concluded Vitals inquiry, has repeatedly come under fire from the Labour Party, particularly since it was confirmed that the inquiry recommended criminal action against former prime minister Joseph Muscat.
The attorney general has since filed charges against Muscat, as well as his former chief of staff, Keith Schembri, former minister Konrad Mizzi and others.
Prime Minister Robert Abela has hit out at the magistrate several times, claiming the timing of the conclusion of the inquiry so close to the opening of nominations for the upcoming June 8 elections is suspect.
Faced with that request, Magistrate Vella observed that the court could not figure out how a decision concerning a correction of the electoral register could in any way be affected by the magistrate’s other duties as inquiring magistrate.
This was a case of upholding or otherwise a request to correct details on the electoral register, not striking a voter off that register.
The PL requested authorisation to intervene in the proceedings filed by the PN and that request was upheld. That intervention had no bearing on the applicant’s request to correct the register.
When all was considered, Magistrate Vella deemed the recusal request as not justified.
The cases were put off for the hearing of evidence next week.
Lawyers Karol Aquilina and Joseph Grech are representing the applicant.