Why do so many MPs run on two districts?

In the last election, Justice Minister Jonathan Attard ran on the fourth district, which includes his hometown of Tarxien, and on the 11th, which includes Mellieħa where he now lives.

And the PN’s Mark Anthony Sammut was elected on both the district that includes his Gudja base (the fourth) as well as on the 10th district, because the Nationalist Party believed he would attract Sliema voters.

It is a long-established practice for ministers and established MPs to run on two districts.

Of the 25 MPs who were ministers and parliamentary secretaries on the eve of the 2022 general election, 22 ran on two districts for the Labour Party.

It has long been an established practice for candidates to run on no more than two districts. After an attempt by Alleanza Bidla (now defunct) to field its leader, Ivan Grech Mintoff, on 12 of Malta’s 13 districts, in 2017, the Superior Court of Appeal ruled that each candidate can only run on a maximum of two districts.

‘Better chance of success’

High-ranking officials in the Labour and Nationalist parties explained the reasoning behind fielding a candidate on two districts.

“First of all, many candidates want to do it because they have a higher chance of getting elected,” a top PL official told Times of Malta.

Choosing between running on one or two districts is a strategic decision, he added.

“If you focus on one district, you can dedicate yourself to fewer localities, spending more time meeting the 25,000 people that can potentially vote for you. But that means you are throwing all your eggs in one basket. Running on two districts means having two chances to get elected but spreading yourself thinner at the same time.”

The official said that ministers tend to run on two districts because they have a national profile.

“People know who the minister is. On the other hand, a backbench MP or a new candidate needs to spend more time to become recognisable. And that means groundwork to get to know voters one by one.”

But ministers don’t run on two districts only to boost their own electoral hopes. The party can also push a candidate they feel can attract voters in a particular district.

‘More power to the party’

“If someone is known for being a feast enthusiast, they can do really well in District Five, which has Żurrieq, Mqabba and so on, where feasts are still so important for the electorate. And if someone is known to support hunting, they might do well in the district that has Rabat, Dingli, etc.,” another PL official said.

He added that sometimes it is just the fact that a politician is well known and can therefore improve turnout.

“High-profile ministers get people out to vote. People who might not otherwise have voted can turn out on election day if a popular name is on the ballot.”

Senior PN officials made similar arguments.

Every MP has a home district and their base usually remains there, but the party often identifies another area where they might also bring in votes, a PN official said.

“Take Mark Anthony Sammut. His home turf is Gudja. He spent years fostering a base of support in the fourth district. But, on a national level, he gained a reputation for being a champion of the rule of law and anti-corruption issues, so he ran on the 10th.”

District 10 includes Sliema and St Julian’s and leans heavily towards PN.

“Our voters there are likely the sort to care about rule-of-law issues and that’s why Sammut did well in that district too.”

Another senior PN source made similar comments, pointing to Stephen Spiteri, a popular family doctor who was elected in the second and third districts in 2022, as an example.

“People might not like the PN but they might like Stephen, so they vote for him and consequently end up voting for the Nationalist Party anyway.”

Giving up a seat

“Having someone elected on two districts gives more power to the party,” one source told Times of Malta.

“If the executive believes Ms X is better suited than Mr Y, we can ensure that our preferred candidate has a shot in a casual election because the MP can be directed to give up the seat that Ms X can take up,” a PL official said.

Under electoral law, an MP elected on two districts must then resign from one of their seats. That resignation immediately triggers a casual election.

In Labour, it is the executive council, together with its parliamentary group, that decides which parliamentary seat an elected MP gives up.

The double-elected MP does get a say and generally speaks first in the debate about the matter, but it is a secret vote within the PL that decides which seat they give up.

That provision is different in the Nationalist Party, as their statute says that an MP elected on two districts must keep the seat in the district where they acquired the most votes.