Updated 9.25pm: Adds comments by the Gozo Business Chamber

The number of MPs should be cut from the current 79 to 45 but they should all work full time and receive a higher salary, according to proposals by the Chamber of Commerce.

Its suggestions for parliamentary reform, published on Thursday, also called for the number of districts to be slashed from 13 to five, with Gozo dropped as a separate district.

And the percentage of votes candidates must receive to be be elected should be reduced to give smaller parties a chance. 

Currently, candidates must receive 16.7 per cent of the vote in their electoral district to get elected. 

Instead, the Chamber proposed a 5 per cent national threshold, which will automatically elect the party that achieves this. The seats would be distributed proportionally according to the votes each party receives.

The reform suggests reducing the current number of electoral districts from 13 to five, each with equal populations. From each district, nine MPS would be elected.

For example, they suggested extending Gozo’s district to also include Mellieħa and Mġarr, arguing that Gozo should not be considered its own region.

This would significantly reduce the size of Malta’s parliament from 79 members of parliament to 45 members.

While the number of 45 MPs would be fixed, the Chamber proposed a mechanism to bring in unelected members who would be needed for their technical ability. In this case, the party would have to drop the MP who received the least votes to get the unelected member into parliament. They would also be subject to a reconfirmation after three years.

Full-time MPs and higher wages

The reform also proposed all MPs receive an increase in their wages.

The prime minister’s salary would be increased to €114,000, ministers and the opposition leader would have a salary of €95,000, parliamentary secretaries would be paid €82,000 and there would be a €42,500 basic salary for other MPs.

The Chamber said that with the reduced number of MPs, the amount of money spent on salaries will remain, more or less, the same.

The Chamber also recommended the end of the gender quota mechanism. It said it had resulted in women’s poor performance in the 2022 general elections, as voters assumed that women would be elected, regardless of their vote.

Instead, the Chamber proposed putting women at the top of the voting sheet. It added that all names of the female and male candidates separately should be randomised and not placed in alphabetical order.

Speaking during the 50th anniversary of Malta as a Republic, President Myriam Spiteri Debono said that Malta requires an electoral reform to give smaller parties more chance.

Civil society NGO il-Kollettiv, is petitioning parliament to reform the electoral system, insisting electoral trends are being ignored because the system in place requires candidates to obtain 16.7 per cent of the district vote to be elected.

Lawyer and former MP Franco Debono had suggested a parliament of 49-full time MPs, with seven districts returning seven parliamentarians each. 

Fragmenting the integrity of Gozo

The Gozo Business Chamber expressed its concern that extending the Gozo electoral district to include Mellieha and Mgarr would effectively fragment the integrity of Gozo, a move which should have been precluded by Article 61 of the Constitution. 

"As the discussion about the regional status of Gozo has again gained momentum, such a proposal shows lack of sensitivity towards a region which throughout the  years has shown its distinctiveness and for which a distinct policy approach has time and again proved necessary," the GBC said in a statement on Thursday.

It pointed out that having its own Members of Parliament who speak specifically for Gozo "is one of the most important gains for Gozo", adding that the time was "ripe for a transparent and honest discussion and a long-term commitment towards Gozo’s status as a region."