President George Vella yesterday launched a public consultation exercise that will lead to the much awaited constitutional reform.

The launch of a website, riformakostituzzjonali.gov.mt, will be an avenue via which recommendations and suggestions may be forwarded.

The website includes links that direct the user straight to a copy of the current constitution and the process through which it will be reformed in both the English and Maltese languages.

Adverts will also be shown on local media to encourage people to take part in this process.

The process will not be accepting any anonymous inputs.

Speaking at the press conference, President George Vella said that this must be dealt with in a holistic manner, and in a way that does not stretch on.

He noted that there were “suspicions” that the two major parties will be making their own decisions on the constitutional reform, and agreed that these circumstances would never be a credible option for the people.

“It must be completely open for everyone,” the President insisted.

The President continued by pointing out that submissions had already been made over  the years, from political parties and a number of academics. This website, he said will allow everyone to have the right to express their ideas on this reform.

The public will have a period of three months to send in their proposals, after which a group specially trained for this will analyse this data.

P.O. Box 40 is also available to receive any hard copies of proposals being put forward.

The constitutional reform began under President Emeritus Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, who had previously been appointed by the two main political parties to discuss plans for constitutional reform.

Current President George Vella took her place on the steering committee following his inauguration as president.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had pledged to revise the Constitution, and former PN MP Franco Debono was made chair of a constitutional reform convention after the 2013 election.  It was later decided, however, that Former President Coleiro Preca will chair the reform.

Both the Nationalist and Labour party are represented by three people per party  on the steering committee- with former Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech, Minister for Justice Owen Bonnici and Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms Julia Farrugia Portelli representing PL, and former minister Tonio Borg, MP Chris Said and Amy Camilleri Zahra representing PN.

Meetings have also been held with Partit Demokratiku and Alternattiva Demokratika.

Indeed more recently, the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission had issued a report on Malta, which highlighted tha the Office of the Prime Minister had too much power when compared to other institutions. This is likely a situation that would need to be addressed within the constitutional reform. 

The need for reform in Malta’s Constitution has been recognised and accepted by members across the political (and non-political) spectrum. It is only natural that, since this reform process is underway, a number of differing ideas will start to rear their heads and enter the field of debate.  One of the more controversial – as it was described by the Prime Minister himself – ideas is that a term limit should be imposed on the role of Prime Minister and indeed on the role of Members of Parliament. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat mentioned this idea when he told journalists that the idea of having a two-term limit for the role of Prime Minister and a four-term limit for the role of MP was one that should be seriously considered during discussions for the upcoming constitutional reform.

Muscat had admitted that the idea is a controversial one, but explained that the reasoning behind it is to send the message that politicians are there to serve the country, and not to tie themselves to the seat of power.