With a ‘gender quota’ bill for MPs set to kick in by the next election, the Labour Party has now set its eyes on local councils.

“The principle of strengthening equal participation of sexes on a parliamentary level should be extended to local councils with a mechanism that would be adequate for them,” the PL said in its latest policy document ‘100 Idea‘.

While proposals in this policy document aren’t guaranteed to make their way to the PL manifesto, they do provide a clear indication of ideas proposed by the governing party.

This particular proposal was also highlighted by PL deputy leader Daniel Micallef in his speech, who said that after the “historic parliamentary gender mechanism reform, we must see how it can apply for local councils”. 

The ‘gender quota’ bill for MPs envisages an electoral mechanism which will automatically kick in if the lesser represented gender gains under 40% of the total seats. 

Up to 12 seats, split evenly between PL and PN, would be added for women or gender-neutral people who failed to get elected in the first round, to ensure a minimum 40% representation of the underrepresented sex. This mechanism will only apply if MPs from two political parties are elected.

The PL’s proposals for local councils also include siphoning some funds from activities that “inconvenience” residents to their local councils, encouraging more collaboration between localities to counter economy-of-scale problems, and more investment in current councillors and council administrative staff. 

Do you agree with this proposal?