Elections in Malta

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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Malta elects on a national level 6 MEPs representing Malta in the European Parliament, on a district level the legislature, On a local level the Local Councils and on a community level the Administrative Committees.

Electoral System

Malta uses single transferable vote to elect its MP/MEP and local councillors. Even though transferable preferences should help third parties since independence the Maltese electorate has consistently voted in two dominant political parties and effectively created a two party system.

Legislature

The House of Representatives (Kamra tad-Deputati) has 65 members, elected for a five-year term in 13 5-seat constituencies, called distretti elettorali, with constitutional amendments that allows for mechanisms to establish strict proportionality amongst seats and votes of political parliamentary groups.

Latest Legislative elections

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Main article: Maltese general election, 2013
e • d Summary of the 9 March 2013 House of Representatives of Malta election results
Parties Votes % +/– Seats +/–
Labour Party 167,533 54.83 +6.04 39 +5
Nationalist Party 132,426 43.34 –6.00 30 –5
Democratic Alternative 5,506 1.80 +0.49 0 0
Ajkla Party 47 0.02 New 0 New
Liberal Alliance 12 0.00 New 0 New
Independents 32 0.01 +0.00 0 0
Invalid/blank votes 4,044 — — — —
Total 309,600 100.0 – 69 0
Registered voters/turnout 330,072 93.8 – – –
Source: Government of Malta, Parliament of Malta

Referendums

There are three types of referendums in Malta: constitutional, consultative and abrogative referendums.

The Constitution of Malta mentions the institute of referendum only in Article 66, sub-articles 3 and 4 (and even than implicitly).[1] Those sub-articles requires that a bill be "[...] submitted to the electors [...] and the majority of the electors voting have approved the bill" in case it modifies:

  • sub-article defining the length of parliamentary term to be five years (article 76, sub-article 2), or
  • sub-articles defining this procedure (article 66, sub-articles 3 and 4)

Such referendum is binding. This type of referendum has never taken place.

The other categories of referendums are regulated by the Referenda Act. "Consultative" referendums (the Act does not use the term) can either take place prior to the assent of a bill in the House of Representatives or following the parliamentary procedure in a form of a conditional clause in the said bill. In the former case it would not legally bind Parliament to approve the said legislation irrelevant of the result of the said referendum, however the latter case, it would be conventionally binding on the President to promulgate the bill into law. There has been six referendums like this on a national level, one on a regional level (Gozo Civic Council referendum, 1973) and a number of local referendums organised by single Local Councils.

An abrogative referendum has never been held and, if invoked and successful, can abrogate pieces of legislation barring some exceptions, notably financial and constitutional law.

There was a total of 6 national referendums in Malta. Of those, 3 referendums were held while Malta was a British crown colony. Those were referendums on:

Three referendums were held in independent Malta:

There was also one local referendum in 1973 in region of Gozo. All seven were non-binding on the colonial and independent government. However, all resulted in a vote in favour of the proposal and, with the exception of the 1956 integration referendum, they were all honoured by the responsible government of the day.

Past elections and referendums

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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