A new rule to ensure gender equality in parliament is merely a tool to strengthen the grip of the two main political parties on Malta, the country's Green Party has said.

Parliament on Wednesday approved from third reading a corrective mechanism to ensure gender parity if no more than two parties are elected to Parliament. 

It means that if one gender has less than 40% of all seats after the election outcome is known, a maximum of 12 additional MPs – six from either party, will be elected.

But ADPD, which has no MPs, described the mechanism as a "shameful manipulation" of the electoral law by the main Nationalist and Labour parties. 

In a statement, ADPD leader Carmel Cacopardo said it was “just a ploy” to ensure that the big parties "get an additional six minions each".

The Nationalist and Labour parties managed to take “the noble idea” of a more representative electoral system, and “mangle it” in an “only in Malta” manner to strengthen their grip on the state, he said.

“Indeed a mafia-style of doing politics,” Cacopardo said.

Spokesperson Sandra Gauci said this the mechanism is not a gender-balanced system with party electoral lists balanced according to gender but “pure manipulation of the electoral system” with some women declared “more equal than others”.