Malta gives green light to divorce

MALTESE people will no longer have to travel abroad to divorce, after an overwhelming vote in favour of finally allowing couples to end their marriages at home on the heavily Catholic island nation.

Prior to the vote yesterday, Malta was the only European Union nation without divorce legislation. The law takes effect in October, after Malta's president is expected to sign it.

Parliament acted after nearly 53 per cent of voters said "yes" to divorce in a referendum on 28 May. The vote was a blow to the ruling Nationalist Party, which had opposed divorce.

Prime minister Lawrence Gonzi voted against the bill, as he believes divorce legislation will weaken the family structure. Mr Gonzi also voted "no" in an earlier vote on 13 July, which led the opposition Labour Party to call for his resignation on the grounds he was not respecting the people's will.

He said yesterday that amendments had improved the legislation, but he was still "uncomfortable" with the bill. Opposition leader Joseph Muscat described the prime minister's vote as "inexplicable," saying he had once again ignored how the people voted in the referendum.

In the past 30 years, 785 Maltese couples divorced abroad, with numbers gradually rising from seven in 1981 to 47 in 2010.

The bill was passed with 52 votes in favour, 11 against and five abstentions, while one MP was absent, a crushing result considering that most laws in Malta are passed by just one vote.