ABBA (political party)

Last updated
ABBA
Partit ABBA
Leader Ivan Grech Mintoff
Founded22 October 2021 (2021-10-22)
Preceded by Alleanza Bidla
Youth wing ABBA Youths
Ideology
Political position Far-right [1] [6]
European affiliation European Christian Political Movement
Colours  White
  Red
  Purple
Slogan"Dignity to Malta"
(Maltese: "Dinjità lil Malta")
House of Representatives
0 / 79
Website
abba.mt

ABBA (Maltese : Partit ABBA) is a far-right and Christian right political party in Malta.

Contents

History

The party was founded in 2021 by Ivan Grech Mintoff, the former leader of Alleanza Bidla. [7] The party's registrations was initially refused by the Electoral Commission due to the party's name not being able to be shortened to an acronym. In response to this ABBA filed a judicial protest claiming the commission was discriminating against them. The Electoral Commission later agreed to register the party. [7] [8] ABBA took part in the 2022 Maltese General Elections with candidates in all 13 districts, [9] they received 0.42% of votes. [10] Most ABBA candidates which ran in the election are also members of the Christian Charismatic Pentecostal group River of Love. [11]

Ideology

ABBA is against COVID restrictions, forming two trade unions in an attempt to fight against them. [12] The party wishes for a national referendum to take place on the Recreational Use of Cannabis, stating the laws introduced that partially legalised recreational cannabis in Malta go against their Christian beliefs. [13]

The party describes itself as pro-life, with founder Ivan Mintoff claiming the Labour and Nationalist parties are "proposing a culture of death" and wish to legalise abortion. The party has filed a police complaint demanding the criminal investigation of 18 Maltese pro-choice activists and organisations. [14] Certain members of the party have espoused various controversial beliefs such as vaccine scepticism, being in favour of freedom of choice. [15]

Electoral history

House of Representatives

ElectionLeaderVotes %Seats+/–RankStatus
2022 Ivan Grech Mintoff1,3640.46%
0 / 79
New5thExtra-parliamentary

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References

  1. 1 2 "Who needs the Far Right, anyway, when we have PN/PL?". MaltaToday.com.mt.
  2. "New party ABBA looks to River of Love for election candidates". Times of Malta.
  3. Mallia, Amy (29 March 2022). "From ABBA To Żaren: Here's How Malta's Small Political Parties And Independent Candidates Did This Election". Lovin Malta.
  4. "Election Playbook: Getting an ABBA-ortion". MaltaToday.com.mt.
  5. "ABBA goes to court over registration as political party". Times of Malta.
  6. 1 2 Cilia, Johnathan (7 March 2022). "Gay Conversion Advocate, Far Right Candidates And More Join 'Religious' Party ABBA". Lovin Malta.
  7. 1 2 "ABBA registered as a new political party". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  8. "ABBA goes to court over registration as political party". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  9. "Electoral Commission of Malta General Election 2022 - All nominations". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  10. "Electoral Commission of Malta". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  11. "New party ABBA looks to River of Love for election candidates". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  12. "ABBA sets up trade unions to fight against COVID restrictions". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  13. Bonnici, Kelly (2022-02-15). "Recreational Use of Cannabis: A National Referendum". Abba. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  14. "ABBA wants police to investigate 18 activists for breaking abortion laws". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  15. Cilia, Johnathan (2022-03-07). "Gay Conversion Advocate, Far Right Candidates And More Join 'Religious' Party ABBA". Lovin Malta. Retrieved 2022-03-29.