Political parties that get at least 5% of all votes cast in the general election will be guaranteed at least one seat inside Parliament under a new PN proposal.

The proposal, which is part of the PN’s electoral manifesto, will be sweet news to Malta’s many third parties, which have in the past managed to reach the 5% threshold but failed to get the required number of district votes to get a seat.

Under Malta’s election rules, candidates are only elected if they receive the required number of votes on their district, with a corrective mechanism only in place if the political party gets a seat. It’s a system used by both the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party in every election, but it has never been extended to parties outside of parliament.

Malta’s third parties have notoriously struggled in elections, with Marlene Farrugia and Godfrey Farrugia the only two third-party candidates to ever get elected to parliament, and that was off the steam of a coalition with the PN.

In its manifesto, the PN also proposes other changes to the electoral system and constitution, which they say will be modernised to reflect today’s world.

Parliamentary Opposition will also be better included in government policy in order to have better democratic representation.

Electronic voting will also become a reality for European Parliament elections, Local Council elections and referendums.

What do you think of the proposal?