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All 65 seats (plus any compensatory seats) of the House of Representatives. 33(+) seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 92.1% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General elections were held in Malta on Saturday, 3 June 2017. 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 most parties fielding candidates since 1962. [1] The result was a victory for the Labour Party, with 55% of the popular vote. [2] Voter turnout reached 92% (down 1% relative to 2013). [3]
Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km (50 mi) south of Italy, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia, and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya. With a population of about 475,000 over an area of 316 km2 (122 sq mi), Malta is the world's tenth smallest and fifth most densely populated country. Its capital is Valletta, which is the smallest national capital in the European Union by area at 0.8 km.2 The official languages are Maltese and English, with Maltese officially recognised as the national language and the only Semitic language in the European Union.
The Labour Party, formerly known as the Malta Labour Party (MLP), is a social-democratic political party in Malta. Along with the Nationalist Party (PN), the Labour Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta. Since the March 2013 general election, the party has been the governing party in the Maltese House of Representatives. The Labour Party is a member of the Party of European Socialists, and was a member of the Socialist International until December 2014.
Joseph Muscat, is a Maltese politician who has served as Prime Minister of Malta since 2013, and Leader of the Partit Laburista (PL) since June 2008. Muscat was re-elected as Prime Minister on the 3rd of June 2017. Previously he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2004 to 2008. He was Leader of the Opposition from October 2008 to March 2013. Muscat identifies as a progressive and liberal politician, with pro-business leanings, and has been associated with both economically liberal and socially liberal policies.
The previous general elections were held on Saturday, 9 March 2013. The Labour Party, led by Muscat, defeated the incumbent Nationalist Party of Lawrence Gonzi in a landslide victory, taking 39 seats in the House of Representatives, against 30 for the Nationalist Party. [4] However, on 5 February 2015 the Constitutional Court ordered two additional seats to be given to the Nationalist Party, increasing the total number of seats to 71. [5] [6] The Labour Party then lost a seat when Marlene Farrugia resigned from the Labour parliamentary group, to later form the Democratic Party. [7] [8]
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.
The Nationalist Party is a Christian-democratic, conservative political party in Malta. It is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the governing Labour Party. The Nationalist Party is currently in opposition to the Labour Party.
Lawrence Gonzi, is a Maltese politician, retired Nationalist politician and lawyer, who served for twenty-five years in various critical roles in Maltese politics. Gonzi was Prime Minister of Malta from 2004 to 2013, and leader of the Nationalist Party. He also served as speaker of the House from 1988 to 1996, and Minister of Social Policy from 1998 to 2004, as well as Deputy Prime Minister from 1999 to 2004. He served in practically all positions in Parliament, being also Leader of the House, an MP and Leader of the Opposition.
Following the defeat, Gonzi stepped down as leader of the Nationalists, with Simon Busuttil taking his place on 13 May. [9]
Simon Busuttil, is a Maltese politician who was Leader of the Opposition within the Maltese Parliament. He also served as a Leader of the Leader of the Nationalist Party and a Member of the European Parliament for the Malta constituency.
Muscat was sworn in as the new Prime Minister on 11 March. The cabinet of 15 ministers was the largest cabinet in Maltese history. [10] This record was again surpassed when Muscat announced a cabinet reshuffle following the appearance of Minister Konrad Mizzi's name in the Panama Papers; the new cabinet featured 16 ministers as well as the Prime Minister. [11] Mizzi was included in the new cabinet as Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister. [12] Prior to the 2013 elections, Muscat had pledged that the size of his Cabinet would never exceed the size of the largest Cabinet of the Fenech Adami administrations, the largest of which consisted of 13 ministers. [11]
The Maltese Government 2013–2017 was the current Government of Malta from 11 March 2013 till 1 May 2017. The Maltese government is elected through a General Election for a five-year term. The Head of Government is Joseph Muscat. On 1st May 2017, whilst speaking during a Labour Party mass meeting, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced a snap general election for June 3 2017, a year before the end of his term.
Konrad Mizzi is a Maltese Labour politician, currently serving as a Member of Parliament and as the Minister for Tourism in Malta. He served as Minister for Energy and the Conservation of Water between 2013 and 2014, Minister for Energy and Health from 2014 until 2016, and as a Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister in April 2016.
The Panama Papers are 11.5 million leaked documents that detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities. The documents, some dating back to the 1970s, were created by, and taken from, Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca, and were leaked in 2015 by an anonymous source.
Further to the outbreak of the Panama Papers, where the already mentioned Mizzi and Keith Schembri, the Chief of Staff within the Office of the Prime Minister were included as owners of a Panama company, together with an unnamed owner of a third company, the Maltese government was receiving copious amounts of pressure by civil society, spearheaded by blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia, but also by the Nationalist Party, especially Leader of the Opposition Simon Busuttil. [13] Nexia BT, a Maltese audit firm, claimed ownership of Egrant. [14]
Keith Schembri is the Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat. He managed the 2013 electoral campaign that saw the Labour Party elected with the largest margin of victory in Malta since its independence.
The Prime Minister of Malta is the Head of Government, which is the highest official of Malta.
Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese journalist, writer, and anti-corruption activist, who reported on political events in Malta. In particular, she focused on investigative reporting into government corruption, nepotism, patronage, allegations of money laundering, links between Malta's online gambling industry and organised crime, Malta's citizenship-by-investment scheme, and payments from the government of Azerbaijan. Caruana Galizia's national and international reputation was built on her regular reporting of misconduct by Maltese politicians and politically exposed persons. For decades, she refused to give up on her reporting despite intimidation and threats, libels and other lawsuits. Caruana Galizia was arrested by the Malta Police Force on two occasions.
On 20 April 2017, Caruana Galizia, published a series of linking Joseph Muscat, Konrad Mizzi, Brian Tonna (managing partner at Nexia BT, owner of BT International, which is the sole shareholder in the Maltese Mossack Fonseca franchise). [15] Muscat called a press conference stating that he asked for an inquiry into Caruana Galizia's claims, categorically denying any wrongdoing and labelling the allegations as "the biggest lie in Malta's political history". [16] Around two hours later, Pilatus Bank Chairman Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, an Iranian with a St. Kitts and Nevis passport, was spotted exiting the bank with a colleague, each carrying a piece of luggage. [17] Hasheminejad declined to give further information. [18] Police raided Pilatus Bank on April 21, however this was deemed as being too late by the PN media since that night a "mysterious" ferry flight operated by VistaJet was en route to Baku, Azerbaijan. [19] [20] [21] Further to this, PN leader Busuttil called for Muscat's resignation and announced a national demonstration against corruption, also deeming inappropriate the Police's "inaction" since the Police Commissioner was enjoying dinner in a restaurant. [22] [18] [23] Michael Briguglio, an Alternattiva Demokratika politician, agreed that the Prime Minister should resign and tweeted that he would be joining the protest. [23]
Mossack Fonseca & Co. (Spanish pronunciation: [mos.ˈsak̚k fõn.ˈse.ka] was a Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider,. It was, at one time, the world's fourth largest provider of offshore financial services. From its 1977 foundation until the April 2016 publication of the Panama Papers it remained mostly obscure, even though it sat at the heart of the global offshore industry, and acted for about 300,000 companies. More than half are registered in British tax havens – as well as in the UK. The firm received worldwide media attention in April 2016, when the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published information about its clients' financial dealings in the Panama Papers articles, following the release of an enormous cache of its documents from between 1970 and 2015 leaked to the news media. Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who led the disclosure efforts, was subsequently murdered by a car bomb on October 16, 2017.
Iran, also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. With over 81 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 18th most populous country. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), it is the second largest country in the Middle East and the 17th largest in the world. Iran is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. The country's central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, give it geostrategic importance. Tehran is the country's capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center.
VistaJet is a global business aviation company founded in 2004 by Thomas Flohr. The firm flies government, corporate and private clients between any two points, under a "pay for hours flown" fare structure.
On 1 May 2017 Muscat announced a snap election to take place on 3 June 2017. [24] [25] [26] The announcement was made during a May Day rally organised by the Labour Party in Valletta. [27] The reason cited was to safeguard economic stability from the power hungry. [28]
The Maltese voting system is a variant of proportional representation, achieved through the use of the single transferable vote, with five MPs to be returned from each of thirteen districts. Overall, there are 65 constituency seats, with a variable number of at-large seats (up to four) added in some cases, to ensure that the overall first-preference vote is reflected in the composition of the House of Representatives, that is, that the party with the most votes has a majority of seats. [29]
The Maltese political landscape is regarded as one of the most pure two-party systems of the 21st century, [30] and has been dominated by moderate centre-left and centre-right groups for decades; no third parties had elected MPs since the 1962 election. Six parties fielded candidates in the 2017 election, the first time since 1962 that Maltese voters had that many parties on the ballot: [1]
Prior to the announcement of the election, opinion polls showed the Labour Party with a consistent lead over the Nationalist Party of around 5 percentage points. Opinion polls conducted during the campaign continued to show similar results.
Below is a list of candidates who ran in the 2017 general election; they are listed in the order used by the Maltese Electoral Commission. Party leaders are marked with an asterisk, while all candidates that successfully obtained a seat in the election, as reported by the electoral commission, [34] are marked in bold. Individual candidates may contest more than one constituency, meaning the some names appear in multiple cells. [35] It is possible for a candidate to be elected in two districts, in which case they resign from one and that seat is assigned to a person of the same party. [36]
District | Labour Party | Nationalist Party (+Democratic Party) | Democratic Alternative | Moviment Patrijotti Maltin | Alleanza Bidla | Independents |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
District 1 [37] | Aaron Farrugia Deo Debattista Luciano Busuttil Joseph Matthew Attard Silvio Parnis Joe Cilia Jose Herrera Carlo Stivala Davina Sammut Hili | Edward Torpiano Mario De Marco Ray Bugeja Paula Mifsud Bonnici Anthony Buttigieg Justin Schembri Liam Sciberras Claudio Grech Herman Farrugia | Marc'Andrea Cassar | Simon Borg Henry Battistino* | Ivan Grech Mintoff* | Joseph Aquilina |
District 2 [38] | Joe Mizzi Stefan Buontempo Deo Debattista Byron Camilleri Joseph Muscat* Glenn Bedingfield Chris Agius Helena Dalli Mark Causon Carmelo Abela | Doris Borg Mary Bezzina Salvu Mallia Jason Zammit Angelo Micallef Errol Cutajar Charles Bonello Ruben Teeling Malcolm Bezzina Josie Muscat Kevin Cassar Stephen Spiteri Ivan Bartolo | Mario Mallia Christian Mizzi | Norman Scicluna Alexander Darmanin Naged Megally | — | — |
District 3 [39] | Owen Bonnici Joe Mizzi Sebastian Muscat Chris Fearne Edric Micallef Kenneth Spiteri Mario Calleja Marion Mizzi Chris Agius Etienne Grech Helena Dalli Silvio Grixti Carmelo Abela Jean Claude Micallef | John Baptist Camilleri Raymond Caruana Janice Chetcuti Mary Bezzina Jason Zammit Errol Cutajar Carm Mifsud Bonnici Mario Galea Charlot Cassar Amanda Abela Catherine Farrugia Mario Rizzo Naudi Josie Muscat Stephen Spiteri | Christian Mizzi | Graziella Borg Duca Alexander Darmanin | — | Nazzareno Bonnici |
District 4 [40] | Stefan Buontempo Konrad Mizzi Chris Fearne Byron Camilleri Andrew Ellul Silvio Parnis Joe Cilia Etienne Grech Dominic Grima Rita Sammut | Jason Azzopardi Aaron Micallef Piccione Caroline Galea Ivan Bartolo Charles Bonello Carm Mifsud Bonnici Therese Comodini Cachia Catherine Farrugia Lawrence Bonavia Liam Sciberras Mark Sammut | Carmel Cacopardo | Stephen Florian Norman Scicluna Desmond Falzon Henry Battistino* | — | — |
District 5 [41] | Julia Farrugia Portelli Joseph Cutajar Owen Bonnici Roderick Cachia Sebastian Muscat Luciano Busuttil Joe Farrugia Edric Micallef Joseph Muscat* Glenn Bedingfield Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi Mario Calleja Carlo Stivala Rita Sammut | Hermann Schiavone Norman Vella Stanley Zammit Anthony Bezzina Nick Refalo Marlene Farrugia Shirley Cauchi Mario Rizzo Naudi Mary Grace Vella Noel Galea | Pascal Aloisio | Simon Borg Johann Ferriggi | — | — |
District 6 [42] | Gavin Gulia Ian Borg Silvio Schembri Roderick Galdes Rosianne Cutajar Robert Abela | Clyde Puli Ryan Callus George Muscat Alessia Psaila Zammit Amanda Abela Karol Aquilina Monique Agius Peter Micallef Kevin Cassar Godfrey Farrugia | Simon Galea | Graziella Borg Duca | Saviour Xuereb | — |
District 7 [43] | Gavin Gulia Julia Farrugia Portelli Anthony Agius Decelis Charles Azzopardi Ian Borg Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi Ian Castaldi Paris Silvio Schembri Edward Scicluna Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando | Paul Mazzola Dounia Borg Beppe Fenech Adami Antione Borg Sam Abela Ian Mario Vassallo Edwin Vassallo Monique Agius Lee Bugeja Bartolo Peter Micallef David Vassallo Godfrey Farrugia Jean Pierre Debono | Ralph Cassar | Johann Ferriggi Anthony Calleja Alex Pisani | Joseph Giardina | — |
District 8 [44] | Ian Castaldi Paris Edward Scicluna Edward Zammit Lewis Rachel Tua Chris Cardona Rosianne Cutajar Alex Muscat | Beppe Fenech Adami David Agius Timothy Alden Michael Asciak Malcolm Bezzina Lee Bugeja Bartolo Claudette Buttigieg Therese Comodini Cachia Vincent (Censu) Galea Angelo Micallef Giorgio Mario Schembri Justin Schembri David Thake Norman Vella | Mario Mallia Pascal Aloisio | Romina Farrugia Randon Ġużeppi Sammut | — | — |
District 9 [45] | Edward Zammit Lewis Sigmund Mifsud Clifton Grima Manuel Mallia Nikita Zammit Alamango Michael Falzon Conrad Borg Manche | Alan Abela Wadge Charles Selvaggi Francis Zammit Dimech Karl Gouder Wayne Hewitt Robert Arrigo Noel Muscat George Pullicino Graziella Attard Previ Ivan Bartolo Timothy Alden Albert Buttigieg Duncan Bonnici Roselyn Borg Knight Evelyn Vella Brincat Justin Fenech Marthese Portelli Mark Azzopardi Kristy Debono Herman Farrugia | Arnold Cassola* Danika Formosa | Ġużeppi Sammut Desmond Falzon | Elizabeth Claire Mikkelsen | — |
District 10 [46] | Evarist Bartolo Sigmund Mifsud Clifton Grima Manuel Mallia Mark Causon Nikita Zammit Alalmango Michael Falzon Jean Claude Micallef Conrad Borg Manche Marion Mizzi | Alan Abela Wadge Charles Salvaggi Francis Zimmit Dimech Anne Marie Muscat Fenech Adami Karl Gouder Christopher Sansone Wayne Hewitt Robert Arrigo Noel Muscat George Pullincino Nick Refalo Graziella Attard Previ Ray Bugeja Karol Aqulina Albert Buttigieg Marlene Farrugia Anthony Buttigieg Roselyn Borg (Borg Knight) Brincat Evelyn Vella Justin Fenech Jason Zammit | Arnold Cassola* Danika Formosa | Fatima Hassanin | Elizabeth Claire Mikkelsen | — |
District 11 [47] | Anthony (Tony) Agius Decelis Alex Muscat Fleur Vella Michael Farrugia Chris Cardona Deborah Schembri Rachel Tua | Connie Scerri Simon Busuttil Graziella Galea Alex Perici Calascione Maria Deguara Alex Mangion Carmel (Charles) Polidano Shirley Cauchi Edwin Vassallo Simone Aquilana Giorgio Mario Schembri Ivan Bartolo David Agius | Carmel Cacopardo Ralph Cassar | Romina Farrugia Randon Naged Megally | Saviour Xuereb | — |
District 12 [48] | Evarist Bartolo Fleur Vella Franco Mercieca Kenneth Spiteri Joseph Matthew Attard Alfred Grima Michael Farrugia Deborah Schembri Clayton Bartolo | Robert Cutajar David Thake Anne Marie Muscat Fenech Adami Salvu Mallia Simon Busuttil Edward Torpiano Graziella Galea Claudette Buttigieg Sam Abela Maria Deguara Duncan Bonnici Simone Aquilina Mark Azzopardi | Simon Galea Luke Caruana | Anthony Calleja Fatima Hassanin | Ivan Grech Mintoff* Joseph Giardina | Joseph Aquilina |
District 13 [49] | Anton Refalo Joe Cordina George Camilleri Franco Mercieca Justyne Caruana Clint Camilleri | Ryan Mercieca Vincent (Ċensu) Galea Carmel (Charles) Polidano Maria Portelli Kevin Cutajar David Stellini Chris Said Frederick Azzopardi Jason Zammit Marthese Portelli Joseph Ellis | Luke Caruana | Stephen Florian | — | Nazzareno Bonnici |
The names of the 65 MPs returned for the districts are embolded in the list above. In addition to these, two Nationalist candidates (Carm Mifsud Bonnici and Frederick Azzopardi) were awarded at-large seats in accordance with the proportional representation system. [50]
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|
Labour Party | 170,976 | 55.04 | 37 | –2 |
Forza Nazzjonali (PN–PD) [lower-alpha 3] | 135,696 | 43.68 | 30 | 0 |
Democratic Alternative | 2,564 | 0.80 | 0 | 0 |
Moviment Patrijotti Maltin | 1,117 | 0.36 | 0 | New |
Alleanza Bidla | 221 | 0.07 | 0 | New |
Independents | 91 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 |
Invalid/blank votes | 4,031 | – | – | – |
Total | 314,696 | 100 | 67 | –2 |
Registered voters/turnout | 341,856 | 92.06 | – | – |
Source: Electoral Commission |
Once preliminary results were known Muscat claimed victory and Busuttil conceded defeat. [52] Muscat declared the result to be an endorsement of his government's programme, stating that "It is clear that the people have chosen to stay the course." [53]
Busuttil tendered his resignation as Nationalist Party leader, along with that of the entire administration of the Nationalist Party, following the defeat. [54] The party began the process of selecting a new leader, which was expected to be complete by September. [55] Despite this, leading Nationalist Robert Arrigo wrote an open letter to Busuttil imploring him to rescind his resignation. [56]
The Democratic Party celebrated the election of its leader Marlene Farrugia as their first-ever elected MP as a 'historic result'. [57]
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 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.
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.
Democratic Alternative, sometimes referred to as AD – The Green Party, is a green political party in Malta particularly dedicated to environmentalism.
General elections were held in Malta on 26 October 1996. Although the Malta Labour Party received the most votes, the Nationalist Party won the most seats. However, the Labour Party was awarded an additional four seats to ensure they had a majority in Parliament.
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Malta was the election of the delegation from Malta to the European Parliament in 2009. The elections were held on 6 June on the same day as the Maltese local council elections, 2009.
Franco Debono is the current Commissioner of Laws of Malta, appointed by the Labour-led administration of Joseph Muscat on 24 March 2013. Debono is a criminal defence lawyer. From 2008 until 2013 served one term as Member of Parliament for the Nationalist Party. During his stay in parliament, Debono became known for frequently rebelling against the Cabinet led by Lawrence Gonzi, which Debono considered an "evil clique" and held responsible for suffocating meritocracy. Debono's opposition was especially noteworthy, because said Cabinet was formed by the Nationalist Party - the same party in whose name Debono contested the previous elections.
The European Parliament election of 2014 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.
Cyrus Engerer is a Maltese politician, known for his public stands on Civil Rights and Malta's National Identity. He is the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to the European Union and also a candidate for the 2019 European Parliament Election on behalf of the Labour Party.
The Democratic Party is a centrist to centre-left political party in Malta. It was founded in 2016 after a split from the Labour Party.
Marlene Farrugia is a Maltese Member of Parliament and founder and leader of the Democratic Party. She was formerly a member of the Nationalist Party, with whom she contested the General Elections in 1996 and 1998, and the Labour Party, with whom she was elected in 2008 and 2013, before resigning in 2015 and forming the Democratic Party in 2016.
Godfrey Farrugia is a Maltese politician, a family doctor, who currently serves as a member of the Maltese parliament. He formerly served as the Minister for Health and a Government Whip, of which he resigned from both posts partially for his lack of trust with the Labour Party in Government.
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