Malta
Parliamentary Elections
Electoral system
- Unicameral parliament
- Chamber name: House of Representatives (Il-Kamra Tad-Deputati)
- Members: 65 (69)
- Term: 5 years
- Constituencies: 13 multi-member constituencies (5 seats).
- Voting system: Proportional, Single-transferable-vote (STV). Each elector indicates his/her order of preference among all the candidates in his/her electoral district regardless of candidates' political affiliation. In the first count, those who satisfy the Hagenbach-Bischoff quotient are declared elected. Should any seats remain vacant, the surplus votes polled by candidates already elected are transferred proportionately to the remaining candidates on the basis of the second preferences indicated. The votes thus transferred are added to those polled by each remaining candidate. The candidate (candidates) who now possesses (possess) a number of votes equal to, or greater than the quotient is (are) elected. Candidates with the lowest number of votes are eliminated and their votes are transferred to the other remaining candidates according to the next preference shown on the ballot paper. The same operation is repeated until there are no more seats to be filled. If necessary, "bonus seats" are allocated to any party receiving the highest percentage of votes under the first-count votes to ensure that it secure a majority of seats in Parliament. The bonus seats are given to the remaining unelected candidates of the winning party irrespective of the district contested.
- Voter requirements: 18 years of age; Maltese citizenship; residence in the country (for a continuous period of six months, or for periods amounting in the aggregate to six months, during the 18 months immediately preceding registration as elector).
- Voting is not compulsory.
Latest elections
Election results 2008. NUTS 3.
Malta held a general election on 8 March, 2008, which was won by the Nationalist Party (PN). The election confirmed well-established patterns of behavior: high voter turnout, two-party only representation and a slim margin between the two main parties – essentially the standard outcome since 1966. Still, the election was not without surprises. The margin between the two parties was an unprecedentedly slim 0.5 percent. This was also the first time in the history of Maltese parliamentary government that a party won three elections in a row with a majority of seats and of votes.
Sources
Inter-Parliamentary Union, PARLINE database on national parliaments
Fenech, D. 2009. Malta. European Journal of Political Research, Vol. 48(7-8), 1047-1051.
Department of Information Malta: http://www.doi.gov.mt/
Elections in Malta: http://maltadata.com/
