Since independence,[when?] two parties have dominated Malta's polarized and evenly divided politics during this period: the centre-right Nationalist Party and the centre-left Labour Party.[citation needed] From the pre-independence 1962 general election until 2017, third parties failed to score any electoral success. In the 2013 election, the Democratic Alternative (a green party established in 1989) managed to secure only 1.8% of the first preference votes nationwide.
The 1996 elections resulted in the election of the Labour Party, by 8,000 votes, to replace the Nationalists, who had won in 1987 and 1992. Voter turnout was characteristically high at 96%, with the Labour Party receiving 50.72%, the Nationalist Party 47.8%, the Democratic Alternative 1.46%, and independent candidates 0.02%.
In 1998, the Labour Party's loss in a parliamentary vote led the prime minister to call an early election. The Nationalist Party was returned to office in September 1998 by a majority of 13,000 votes, holding a five-seat majority in Parliament. Voter turnout was 95%, with the Nationalist Party receiving 51.81%, the Labour Party 46.97%, the Democratic Alternative 1.21%, and independent candidates 0.01%.
By the end of 2002 the Nationalist government wrapped up negotiations for European Union membership. A referendum on the issue was called in March 2003, for which the Nationalists and the Democratic Alternative campaigned for a "yes" vote while Labour campaigned heavily for "no" vote, invalidate their vote or abstain. Turnout was 91%, with more than 53% voting "yes".[2]
The Labour Party argued that the "yes" votes amounted to less than 50% of the overall votes, hence, and citing the 1956 Maltese United Kingdom integration referendum as an example, they claimed that the "yes" had not in fact won the referendum. The then MLP Leader Alfred Sant said that the general election which was to be held within a month would settle the affair. In the general elections the Nationalists were returned to office with 51.79% of the vote to Labour's 47.51%. The Democratic Alternative polled 0.68%. The Nationalists were thus able to form a government and sign and ratify the EU Accession Treaty on 16 April 2003.
On 1 May 2004 Malta joined the EU and on 1 January 2008, the Eurozone with the euro as the national currency.[3] The first elections after membership were held in March 2008 resulting in a narrow victory for the Nationalist Party with 49.34% of first preference votes. In May 2011, a nationwide referendum was held on the introduction of divorce. This was the first time in the history of parliament that Parliament approved a motion originating outside from the Cabinet.[4]
In March 2013, the Labour Party returned to government after fifteen years in opposition with a record-breaking lead of 36,000 votes leading to the resignation of the Nationalist leader Lawrence Gonzi, and Joseph Muscat became prime minister.[5][6] In June 2017, the Labour Party called in a snap election on its May Day celebrations and increased its vote disparity to around 40,000 votes.[7] The then leader of the opposition, Simon Busuttil, announced his resignation shortly thereafter. This election saw the first third party elected to Malta's Parliament since independence, with the election of Marlene Farrugia in the 10th District representing the Democratic Party.[8]Joseph Muscat continued to be prime minister[9] In January 2020, he stepped down after the 2019 Malta political crisis surrounding the car bombing of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.[10]Robert Abela - the son of Malta's former president George Abela - elected a new leader of Labour Party and new prime minister of Malta in January 2020.[11]
Democratic Alternative and the Democratic Party merged into a new party, AD+PD, on 17 October 2020.[12][13]
In March 2022, the ruling Labour party, led by Prime Minister Robert Abela, won its third successive election. It gained even bigger victory than in 2013 and in 2017.[14]
Executive branch
Under its 1964 constitution, Malta became a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was sovereign of Malta, and a governor-general exercised executive authority on her behalf, while the actual direction and control of the government and the nation's affairs were in the hands of the cabinet under the leadership of a Maltese prime minister.
On December 13, 1974, the constitution was revised, and Malta became a republic within the Commonwealth, with executive authority vested in the president of Malta, which can be exercised directly or through officers subordinate to him. The president is elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term. They appoint as prime minister the leader of the party with a majority of seats in the unicameral House of Representatives, known in Maltese as Kamra tar-Rappreżentanti.
The president also nominally appoints, upon recommendation of the prime minister, the individual ministers. Ministers are selected from among the members of the House of Representatives, which usually consists of 65 members unless bonus seats are given to a party which gains an absolute majority of votes but not a parliamentary majority. Elections must be held at least every five years and the electoral system used is single transferable vote.
Administrative divisions
Malta is divided into 68 elected local councils, with each council responsible for the administration of cities or regions of varying sizes. Administrative responsibility is distributed between the local councils and the central government in Valletta. The Local Councils Act, 1993 (Act XV of 1993), was published on June 30, 1993, subdividing Malta into 54 local councils in Malta and 14 in Gozo. The inhabitants who are registered elect the Council every three years, as voters in the Local Councils' Electoral Register. Elections are held by means of the system of proportional representation using the single transferable vote. The mayor is the head of the Local Council and the representative of the Council for all effects under the Act. The executive secretary, who is appointed by the Council, is the executive, administrative, and financial head of the Council. All decisions are taken collectively with the other members of the Council. Local councils are responsible for the general upkeep and embellishment of the locality, local wardens, and refuse collection, and carry out general administrative duties for the central government such as collection of government rents and funds, and answering government-related public inquiries.
There are also Administrative Committees elected with responsibility for smaller regions.
Ordinarily, 65 members are elected to the House from 13 multi-seat constituencies each returning 5 MPs. Additional MPs are elected in two circumstances:
When a party achieves 50%+1 of first-preference valid votes in the election but does not secure a parliamentary majority it is awarded enough seats (filled by the best runner-up candidates) to make a parliamentary majority
When in an election contested by more than two parties only two parties are elected to Parliament and the relative parliamentary strength is not proportionate to the first preference votes obtained, additional seats are allocated to establish proportionality
A third electoral amendment has been enacted which guarantees strict-proportionality with respect to votes and seats to parliamentary political groups.
Political party standings as of the most recent election
Voting stations were opened from 07:00 to 22:00, and in total, there were 355,075 citizens that had the right to vote in the general election.[15][16] The turnout at 14:00 was reported at 44.8%, which was eight points lower than in 2017.[17] According to the Electoral Commission of Malta, a total of 304,050 citizens voted, which made it the lowest turnout since the 1955 election.[18][19] In addition to the 65 regularly elected members, two seats were awarded to the Nationalist Party to restore proportionality between votes obtained and parliamentary representation and twelve more women were appointed (six for each of the parties with elected members) to comply with the gender-corrective mechanism.[20]
The judicial system in Malta comprises inferior courts, civil and criminal courts of appeal, and a Constitutional Court.[22] Inferior courts are presided over by magistrates which have original jurisdiction in criminal and civil actions. In the criminal courts, the presiding judge sits with a jury of nine. The Court of Appeal and the Court of Criminal Appeal hear appeals from decisions of the civil and criminal actions respectively.
The highest court, the Constitutional Court, has both original and appellate jurisdiction. In its appellate jurisdiction it adjudicates cases involving violations of human rights and interpretation of the Constitution. It can also perform judicial review. In its original jurisdiction it has jurisdiction over disputed parliamentary elections and electoral corrupt practices.
There is a legal aid scheme offered to citizens lacking the means to afford legal defence.[22]
According to the Constitution, the president appoints the chief justice of Malta acting in accordance with a resolution of the House supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the members of the House of Representatives. The judges of the Superior Court and the magistrates of the inferior courts are appointed through the Judicial Appointments Committee of Malta.
Guarantees for the independence of the judiciary include the security of tenure for judges until their retiring age set at 65 (with a choice to extend retirement till 68), or until impeachment. The impeachment procedure for judges foresees a removal decision of the president upon request by the Commission for the Administration for Justice.
The independence of the judiciary is also guaranteed by the constitutional requirement that the judges’ salaries are paid from the Consolidated Fund and thus the government may not diminish or amend them to their prejudice.
The Maltese system is considered in line with the principles of separation of powers and of independence of the judiciary. However, in its pre-accession evaluation reports, the European Commission has suggested in 2003 the need to reform the procedure for appointment of the members of the judiciary, currently "controlled by political bodies" (i.e. the Parliament and parties therein), in order to improve its objectivity.[22] The Commission has also pointed to the need to check the compliance of the procedure for challenging judges and magistrates provided for by Article 738 of the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure with the principle of an impartial tribunal enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.[23]
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy where executive power is delegated by legislation and social conventions to a unitary parliamentary democracy. From this a hereditary monarch, currently King Charles III, serves as head of state while the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, currently Rishi Sunak since 2022, serves as the elected head of government.
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.
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.
Simon Busuttil is the Secretary General of the EPP Group in the European Parliament. Formerly, he was Leader of the Opposition. and Leader of the Nationalist Party in Malta and a Member of the European Parliament for Malta.
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.
George Abela, is a Maltese politician who was the eighth president of Malta from April 2009 to April 2014.
General elections were held in Malta on 9 March 2013 to elect all members of the House of Representatives.
Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results.
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando is a Maltese former Member of Parliament who served as the Executive Chairman of the Malta Council for Science and Technology for 13 years - till December 2022, and is currently the Executive Chairman of the National Skills Council.
The Parliament of Malta is the constitutional legislative body in Malta, located in Valletta. The parliament is unicameral, with a democratically elected House of Representatives and the president of Malta. By constitutional law, all government ministers, including the prime minister, must be members of the House of Representatives.
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.
Cyrus Engerer is a Maltese Member of European Parliament representing the Labour Party. A gay rights activist, he was the leading spokesperson for the Yes campaign at the 2011 Maltese divorce referendum. In 2021 he was tasked with negotiating the European Parliaments historic resolution on the declaration of the European Union as an LGBTQ Freedom zone, in reaction to the establishment of so called "LGBT-Free zones" in Poland. Engerer later went on to write the European Parliaments resolution which condemned the laws in Hungary which effectively banned "LGBT propaganda" in the vicinity of schools. From 2014 till 2019 Engerer was the Prime Minister's special envoy to the European Union. He was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in November 2020. After he joined the Labour Party the Police of Malta opened an investigation against him, leading to his father's arrest, the opening of a court case against him on spreading pornography and the arrest of his mother on election day. He himself was convicted for spreading revenge porn and received a suspended two years term imprisonment. He is the partner of Partit Laburista's Member of Parliament Randolph De Battista.
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.
General elections were held in Malta on 26 March 2022 to elect all members of the House of Representatives.
Robert Abela is a Maltese lawyer and politician who has served as prime minister of Malta and leader of the Malta Labour Party since 2020. The son of former President George Abela, he was elected to Parliament in 2017. Abela was sworn in as prime minister following the resignation of Joseph Muscat on 13 January 2020.
General elections will be held in Malta by 2027 to elect all members of the House of Representatives. The Labour Party, which had governed Malta since 2013, won a third term in the 2022 elections under Robert Abela. Shortly after the elections, Bernard Grech was re-elected unopposed for the leader of the Nationalist Party.
Clifton Grima is a Maltese lawyer and politician who has served in the Parliament of Malta since 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Grima is also the Minister for Education and Sport.
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