Most Maltese Candidates Didn’t Reveal Election Donor List, Seven Spent Over €25,000 On Campaign
A new report by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life over individual candidates’ spending during the March 2022 General Elections reveals some key information about Malta’s politicians.
Among the findings were the facts that most election candidates did not provide a detailed list of campaign donors – and a wide number of declarations of expenditure were found to not “necessarily give a true picture of costs”.
“Seven election candidates declared spending more than €25,000 – one from the Nationalist Party and six from the Labour Party. Of the latter six, four were ministers,” George Hyzler, Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, noted in the report.
By law, candidates can spend up to €40,000 if they contest two districts. However, this limit applies only to expenditure incurred during the official campaign period, which starts when an election is called.
While this amount is a maximum, 45% of all candidates with the two main political parties declared spending €5,000 during the March 2022 election campaign.
However, candidates typically start campaigning well beforehand.
The report noted that “valid prospective candidates can be dissuaded from contesting elections by the need to spend substantial amounts of money in order to have a reasonable chance of success”.
This risks leaving the field to those who see “politics as a means of personal gain or are willing to incur obligations to third parties in return for campaign donations,” the report warned.
“The outcome would be to undermine standards in public life and erode public trust in the political process.”
When it comes to declaring one’s spending, the report noted that oftentimes, politicians’ social media posts would not tally up with declarations.
“Declarations of expenditure by candidates do not necessarily give a true picture of costs because they are understood as obliging candidates to report costs incurred during the official campaign period only. A survey of some candidates’ public social media posts brings to light campaign events that do not appear reflected in their declarations,” the report said.
It also criticised the declaration forms themselves, finding them to be outdated and unclear.
While the report did not issue any recommendations for change, it did highlight a number of weak points within Malta’s political protocol, especially when it comes to spending oversight during key political moments, like elections.
“The report argues for the imposition on candidates of an obligation to report all significant campaign donations regardless of when they are given,” it urged. “The report warns that unrestrained campaign spending can trigger a race to the bottom in terms of standards in public life, and it is vital to the health of democracy in Malta that this situation is avoided.”
What do you make of this report?
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