PL MP backs gender mechanism tweak for third parties

Labour MP Deborah Schembri believes Malta’s corrective gender mechanism should be tweaked so it also applies to third parties if they win a seat in parliament.

Schembri, who was elected to parliament through the mechanism, said the law should be fairer to smaller parties that secure representation in the House.

The issue was discussed on Wednesday during Il-KAŻIN x Times of Malta, which debated the motion "Parliament’s gender corrective mechanism is and remains necessary for Malta". 

The debate also featured lawyer Nickie Vella de Fremeaux, ADPD Chairperson Sandra Gauci and former MEP Marlene Mizzi.

Gauci argued that the mechanism, as it stands, strengthens the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party rather than helping women across the political spectrum.

“Are we promoting the gender or are we promoting [PL and PN]? I think it is promoting the parties,” Gauci said.

“What difference is there between Sandra of the Greens or someone from PN or PL?” she asked.

Gauci contested the last general election on ADPD’s ticket.

She received 950 votes in the 12th district and 594 votes in the sixth district, but could not be considered for a seat under the mechanism because it only applies to candidates from parties that have already won seats. 

“You think women can’t think for themselves so much that you have to hold their hand and say either with red or blue, otherwise you are out of the game,” Gauci said.

During the debate, Gauci held up a placard reading: “Je Suis en Femme. Je suis Sandra Gauci” (“I am a woman, I am Sandra Gauci”).

The card carried by Sandra Gauci and supporters during the debate Photo: Emma Borg

Schembri pressed Gauci on whether she would support the mechanism if it also favoured third-party candidates.

Gauci, who opposes the mechanism in its current form, said she would support such a change if it genuinely promoted gender representation rather than the two main parties.

Schembri said she partially agreed with Gauci.

She said Gauci had received support from more than 1,000 voters and described her as a “valid person”.

If ADPD had won a parliamentary seat, Schembri said, the mechanism should also have applied to the party. However, Schembri said she did not agree with extending the mechanism to parties that failed to win a seat in parliament.

Vella de Fremeaux also voiced support for third-party representation in parliament.

She said Malta was ready for a third party in parliament and referred to Gauci as someone who should have been elected.

A petition calling for Gauci to be given a parliamentary seat had received more than 5,300 signatures by Wednesday evening.

During the debate, Mizzi argued that MPs who enter parliament through the gender mechanism should not be able to use it again if they fail to get elected at the next election.

“You had the chance to prove yourself,” Mizzi said. “Prove yourself or out, that is democracy”.

The debate ended with a final vote in which 12 per cent agreed with the motion, while 88 per cent disagreed.

Parliament's gender corrective mechanism was first implemented in the 2022 general election and used for a second time this month following last month's election.

The mechanism adds up to 12 MPs to parliament to ensure gender balance among lawmakers. It kicks in if the underrepresented gender secures less than 40 per cent of parliament's seats.