The politics of Malta takes place within a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the president of Malta is the constitutional head of state. Executive authority is vested in the president of Malta, with the general direction and control of the Government of Malta remaining with the prime minister of Malta, who is the head of government and the cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Malta, which consists of the president of Malta and the unicameral House of Representatives of Malta with the speaker as the presiding officer of the legislative body. Judicial power remains with the chief justice and the judiciary of Malta. Since independence, the party electoral system has been dominated by the Christian democratic Nationalist Party and the social democratic Labour Party.
The Nationalist Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party.
Edoardo "Eddie" Fenech Adami is a Maltese politician and Nationalist politician who served as the prime minister of Malta from 1987 until 1996, and again from 1998 until 2004. Subsequently, he was the seventh president of Malta from 2004 to 2009. He led his party to win four general elections, in 1987, 1992, 1998 and 2003, as well as the majority of votes in 1981. Staunchly pro-European, Fenech Adami was fundamental for Malta's accession to the European Union.
The Labour Party, formerly known as the Malta Labour Party, is one of the two major political parties in Malta, along with the Nationalist Party. It sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum.
Alfred Sant, is a Maltese politician and a novelist. He led the Labour Party from 1992 to 2008 and served as Prime Minister of Malta between 1996 and 1998 and as Leader of the Opposition from 1992 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2008. Sant is an established writer and playwright and has published several books.
Joseph Muscat is a Maltese politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Malta from 2013 to 2020 and leader of the Labour Party from 2008 to 2020.
Democratic Alternative, sometimes referred to as AD – The Green Party, was a green political party in Malta. The party was initially founded by a coalition of former Labour Party members and environmental activists in 1989. On 1 August 2020 the party announced a plan to merge with the Democratic Party to form a new party called AD+PD. The merger was conducted on 17 October 2020.
General elections were held in Malta on Saturday, 3 June 2017 to elect all members of the House of Representatives. The elections were contested by the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, the Nationalist Party, led by opposition leader Simon Busuttil, and four other parties, making it the elections with most parties participating since 1962.
The 2014 European Parliament election in Malta elected Malta's delegation to the European Parliament from 2014 to 2019. This was the third such election held in Malta. The elections were held on Saturday, 24 May 2014.
Jason Azzopardi is a Maltese politician and lawyer. He graduated as Doctor of Laws with a master's degree in financial services from the University of Malta in 1996 and that year he started practicing as a private criminal lawyer in the courts of Malta.
The Democratic Party was a centrist to centre-left political party in Malta. It was founded in 2016 after a split from the Labour Party. It elected Malta's first two third party MPs for the first time since the country's Independence. In August 2020 the party announced an agreement to merge with the green Democratic Alternative party to form a new party called AD+PD. The merger was conducted on 17 October 2020.
The Maltese Patriots Movement is an inactive right-wing populist political party in Malta. It was formed in April 2016 as a political wing of the Maltese Patriotic Association.
General elections were held in Malta on 26 March 2022 to elect all members of the House of Representatives.
The 2019 European Parliament election was held in Malta on 25 May 2019. 8 different political parties took part in the election, of which, only 2 won seats in the European Parliament; the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party, with 4 and 2 seats respectively.
The 2024 European Parliament election was held in Malta on 8 June 2024 in tandem with local elections. It was the fifth election to the European Parliament. Malta will elect 6 of the 720 Members of the European Parliament. EU citizens aged 16 and over were entitled to vote, provided they have registered to do so. Six different political parties had announced their participation, only 2 of these won seats in the last election those being the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party, with 4 and 2 seats respectively.
Bernard Grech is a Maltese politician and lawyer who has been the leader of the Nationalist Party and the Leader of the Opposition since 2020.
The People's Party, also erroneously called the Popular Party by Maltese English-language media, is a conservative political party in Malta. It was founded in July 2020 and is currently headed by Paul Salomone. The party has never obtained any seats in local councils or the Maltese parliament. It does not contest European elections. It is considered right-wing to far-right by certain journalists and portals, however the party protests against the latter characterisation.
ABBA is a far-right and Christian right political party in Malta.
Local council elections were held in Malta and Gozo on 8 June 2024, in tandem with the European Parliament elections. This is the second time that all local councils of Malta shall be elected simultaneously in a single election, following the 2015 reform abolishing the previous system of half-council elections.
