Civil society NGO il-Kollettiv is petitioning parliament to reform the electoral system, because it says the current one leaves voters who did not choose big parties unrepresented in parliament. 

The group is circulating a petition - signed by former Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer - calling for the immediate opening of a consultation process on this matter and to see reform carried out within this legislature. 

“Through this petition, Il-Kollettiv seeks to give representation to the 143,028 voters who chose to vote for independent and smaller parties – or to abstain – in the last European Parliament elections held on June 8. These amount to 38.6% of the electorate; out of these, 12.7% voted for independent or smaller candidates,” the group said in a statement. 

“This confirms how the Maltese voter’s profile is changing as time goes by, and how there are shifts in opinion from one election to the other.”

However, these shifts in opinion, they said, are being ignored because the current system requires candidates to capture 16.7% of the district vote to be elected.

“A democracy is only strong when it represents the smaller voices, and not only at election time. An analysis of the votes achieved by the independent and smaller parties will show that, at 12.7%, it will equate to 10 of the 79 seats in national Parliament. In reality, however, the present system works in favour of the two big parties, and this means that no independent or third party will ever be elected,” the group said. 

“At every election, various representatives of the two major parties insist that voting for a smaller party is equal to wasting your vote. After 143,028 voters chose not to vote for either government or opposition parties, it’s high time that they are given a fair representation in our democracy. Through this petition, the public has the chance to show that it wants to be represented in the running of the country.”

The petition is calling on the House of Representatives to:

• Immediately and during this legislature, launch a wide-ranging consultation process on the electoral system;
•  Discuss, as a matter of principle, the introduction of a national threshold that guarantees a full representation of the Maltese electorate;
• Initiate the full process leading to an electoral reform, which presents a fairer system as from the next general elections.

Those who would like to take part in this campaign can do so by emailing il-Kollettiv at kollettiv@gmail.com.

The petition can be accessed in Maltese and English through the links provided.