Speaker should be nominated from the smaller parties, says Momentum
'A unique opportunity for Malta’s political institutions to take a meaningful step forward in democratic maturity'
Momentum has urged the major parties to nominate one of its candidates or one from ADPD to serve as Speaker in the new legislature in view of what it said was the "strong result" they achieved at the general election.
Momentum won 1.5% of the vote nationally and ADPD 1.3%.
This, Momentum said, had "created a unique opportunity for Malta’s political institutions to take a meaningful step forward in democratic maturity."
"In light of the thousands of Maltese and Gozitan voters who chose to support third-party alternatives, Momentum is proposing that the PL and PN reach agreement on the nomination of a Speaker of the House put forward jointly by Momentum and ADPD," Momentum said.
"Such a gesture would send a powerful message that Parliament belongs to all citizens, not only to the two traditional parties. It would acknowledge the growing number of voters who are seeking a different political voice and who have clearly expressed their desire for a more pluralistic democracy."
Momentum leader Arnold Cassola told a press conference that his party did relatively well given it was only set up months ago.
He said the 4,700 first-count votes the party got nationally were deserving of representation in parliament, but that was not possible under the current electoral system.
“With 4,700 first count votes and 6,700 by the last count, we should have gotten a very comfortable seat in parliament. And so should ADPD, which got almost 4,000 votes,” he said.
“This means there will be two fewer seats in parliament to represent our voters.”
He said the next “farcical situation” would now unfold when ADPD chair Sandra Gauci would not be assigned a seat under the gender quota system, which is limited to parties already represented in parliament, even though she actually got more votes than most of the eligible candidates.