Final results yesterday of the polling the day before showed that 52.67 percent of
people voted in favour of divorce. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who had campaigned
against the change, said parliament would respect the will of the people in the nonbinding
referendum and work on legislation to legalize divorce.
Turnout for the referendum
stood at around 72 percent which although a high figure by Western standards is low
in Maltese voting.
By contrast, turnout in the 2003 referendum on whether
to join the EU stood at almost 91 percent and at the last general election at over
93 percent.
Malta, which is the last remaining country in Europe to ban divorce
also bans abortion.
Of the 400 thousand people who live on the island nation
95 per cent are Catholic. Listen to report