The Labour Party has officially objected to the Electoral Commission over its decision to grant the Nationalist Party two extra seats in Parliament.

The party said that extra seats are allocated according to a constitutional clause which is based on there being only two parties elected but that Marlene Farrugia was elected on behalf of the Partit Demokratiku.

The protest, signed by Louis Gatt, said that the Electoral Commission should therefore reverse its decision.

A mechanism was added to the constitution in 2007, to ensure strict proportionality between votes obtained and seats in Parliament. Extra seats are awarded to the parties that have elected MPs, but this may not always be the case.

An analysis carried out by the Times of Malta explained that when there are three or more political parties in Parliament, the mechanism comes into force when one party obtains an absolute majority of votes (50% plus 1). However, it will not be applied when none of the three parties obtains an absolute majority.

Read: All you need to know about the election count process

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