AD push for electoral reform

Alternattiva Demokratika general secretary Stephen Cachia has written to the general secretaries of the Labour and Nationalist parties to propose a meeting on electoral law reform.

"In the light of the recent debate between us during TV programmes Xarabank and Bondi + in which there was a general agreement on the need for discussions on an electoral reform which is fair for all parties, I am writing to propose a meeting between the three political parties so that these discussions would commence," Mr Cachia wrote.

AD said the country could no longer afford an electoral system, which denied parliamentary representation to a party, which failed to get more than 16 per cent of votes on one district. This threshold was a barrier for real political pluralism.

"Malta remains the only country in Europe where only two parties are represented in parliament. The fact that nearly one tenth of the electorate voted for AD on June 12 makes such a reform only more urgent," the party said.