Malta MEP hopeful faces rare re-hearing after late expense filing

# Former MEP hopeful’s late expense return sent back to court in rare electoral replay

Valletta – A former candidate who stood for Malta in last June’s European Parliament election has had her campaign-expense case sent for a full re-hearing after filing her declaration two weeks past the legal deadline, the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life confirmed on Tuesday. The decision, described by electoral-law watchers as “virtually unheard of” in recent Maltese history, means the candidate—local entrepreneur and first-time contender Bernice Saliba—will have to appear again before the Electoral Commission and could face a fine of up to €1,000 or even a five-year ban from running for office if the breach is deemed “repeated or reckless”.

Saliba, 34, who ran on the Labour Party ticket but failed to secure one of Malta’s six seats, submitted her sworn statement of expenses on 17 July, 14 days after the 30 June cut-off written into Malta’s European Parliament Elections Act. The declaration showed she spent €19,847—well under the €42,000 national ceiling—but the tardiness triggered an automatic investigation by the Commissioner, whose office must refer late filings to the Attorney General “without undue delay”.

## A tiny island, a tiny overshoot—why the fuss?

To outsiders, two weeks may sound trivial. Yet in Malta, where the entire electorate numbers just 355,000 and where political families still greet each other by village feast nicknames, electoral transparency is treated with almost religious zeal. Since the 2013 oil-scandal years, successive governments have beefed up disclosure rules to reassure citizens that Brussels-bound MEPs will not be bankrolled by hidden donors. “We are a village squared,” explains sociologist Dr. Josianne Micallef. “Everyone knows whose cousin printed the banners. Late paperwork feels like a personal slight.”

The re-hearing order lands at a sensitive moment. Only six months ago, Malta’s Standards Commissioner ordered cabinet minister Silvio Schembri to apologise for using public Facebook pages during the campaign. The two cases are unrelated, but together they feed a broader narrative that 2024’s “clean-up” election—hailed by Prime Minister Robert Abela as the most transparent ever—is still throwing up teething problems.

## Village rumour mill shifts into gear

Saliba, who owns a Sliema branding agency, is popular in her hometown of Żebbuġ, where she sponsors the annual St. Philip feast fireworks. Within minutes of Tuesday’s announcement, Facebook groups “Żebbuġi Past & Present” and “Malta Politics 2024” lit up with memes showing clock faces super-imposed on Labour’s red flag. Some defended her as a victim of “bureaucratic gotchas”; others recalled her own pre-election pledge to “bring accountability to Europe”. By 8 p.m. the phrase “#BerniceTheLate” was trending island-wide, prompting the candidate to post a short statement: “I take full responsibility for the administrative delay and will cooperate fully with the re-hearing.”

## What happens next?

Under Article 42 of the Act, the Electoral Commission must convene within 20 days and allow Saliba to explain the delay. She may bring witnesses—commonly accountants or campaign managers—to testify that the oversight was neither wilful nor advantageous. If the commission finds the breach “minor and technical”, it can levy a reprimand; if it rules the delay hindered rivals’ right to scrutinise spending, tougher sanctions kick in. Legal sources tell *Hot Malta* that the five-year ban is “highly unlikely” for a first offence, but the reputational damage could shadow any future bid.

## Community impact: trust on the line

Beyond the courtroom, the episode is already colouring how ordinary voters view Brussels hopefuls. At a coffee kiosk outside the University of Malta, student Kevin Pace tells *Hot Malta*: “We’re the generation that grew up with Panama Papers revelations. If someone can’t hit a simple deadline, how will they push back on EU tax files?” Others are more forgiving. Pensioner Mary Camilleri, buying *pastizzi* in Rabat, shrugs: “She’s 34, she made a mistake. Let’s not crucify her—plenty of others fudge worse.”

## Conclusion

Malta’s political class loves to boast that the island’s size makes it Europe’s most accessible democracy; yet that same intimacy magnifies every slip. Saliba’s late paperwork may yet prove a footnote, but the re-hearing order is a timely reminder that in a nation where everyone recognises the candidate at the bakery queue, transparency rules are only as strong as the punctuality of those who sign them. As the Commissioner’s office prepares its file, villagers and voters will watch closely—not just to see whether Bernice Saliba is fined, but whether Malta’s hard-won accountability culture can survive its own village-square spotlight.