Elections in Malta

Malta elects on a national level 6 MEPs representing Malta in the European Parliament, on a district level the legislature, on a local level the local councils, and on a community level the Administrative Committees.

Malta uses single transferable vote to elect its MP/MEP and local councillors. Even though transferable preferences often are used to help third parties, the Maltese voter, since independence, has consistently placed its first-choice vote and its back-up preferences for candidates of one of two dominant political parties, and the country has effectively created a two party system. A third party Representative was elected to Parliament for the first time since Independence in 2017, thanks to the election of the Democratic Party to Parliament as part of the Forza Nazzjonali coalition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/election-2017/77902/race_heats_up_in_the_tenth_as_marlene_farrugia_takes_on_pn_incumbents_|title=Updated {{!}} Marlene Farrugia elected on 10th district, George Pullicino out of race|website=MaltaToday.com.mt|language=en|access-date=2019-04-26}}</ref>

==Legislature== The '''House of Representatives''' ({{langx|mt|Kamra tad-Deputati}}) has 65 members, elected for a five-year term in 13 five-seat electoral divisions, called {{lang|mt|distretti elettorali}}, with constitutional amendments that allows for mechanisms to establish strict proportionality amongst seats and votes of political parliamentary groups. The next election is scheduled to be held on May 30, 2026.{{cn|date=April 2026}}

=== Latest Legislative elections === {{main|2026 Maltese general election}}

===Timeline of formed governments since 1921=== {{#tag:timeline| ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:100 top:10 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1920 till:{{#time:d/m/Y}} TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1920 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1920

Colors = id:Election value:black legend:General_Election id:UPM value:purple legend:Unione_Politica_Maltese id:CP value:orange legend:Partito_Costituzionale id:PL value:red legend:Malta_Labour_Party/Partit_Laburista id:PN value:blue legend:Partit_Nazzjonalista id:MWP value:claret legend:Malta_Workers_Party

BarData = bar:UPM text:"Maltese Political Union" bar:CP text:"Constitutional Party" bar:PL text:"Labour Party" bar:PN text:"Nationalist Party" bar:MWP text:"Malta Workers Party"

PlotData= width:11 bar:UPM from:20/10/1921 till:08/06/1924 color:UPM bar:CP from:11/06/1924 till:06/08/1927 color:CP bar:CP from:09/08/1927 till:10/06/1932 color:CP bar:PL from:09/08/1927 till:10/06/1932 color:PL bar:PN from:14/06/1932 till:21/07/1939 color:PN bar:CP from:25/07/1939 till:09/12/1945 color:CP bar:PL from:13/09/1945 till:24/10/1947 color:PL bar:PL from:28/10/1947 till:01/09/1950 color:PL bar:PN from:05/09/1950 till:04/05/1951 color:PN bar:MWP from:05/09/1950 till:04/05/1951 color:MWP bar:PN from:08/05/1951 till:11/12/1953 color:PN bar:MWP from:08/05/1951 till:11/12/1953 color:MWP bar:PL from:15/12/1953 till:25/02/1955 color:PL bar:PL from:01/03/1955 till:16/02/1962 color:PL bar:PN from:20/02/1962 till:25/03/1966 color:PN bar:PN from:29/03/1966 till:11/06/1971 color:PN bar:PL from:15/06/1971 till:16/09/1976 color:PL bar:PL from:19/09/1976 till:11/12/1981 color:PL bar:PL from:13/12/1981 till:08/05/1987 color:PL bar:PN from:10/05/1987 till:21/02/1992 color:PN bar:PN from:23/02/1992 till:25/10/1996 color:PN bar:PL from:27/10/1996 till:04/09/1998 color:PL bar:PN from:06/09/1998 till:11/04/2003 color:PN bar:PN from:13/04/2003 till:07/03/2008 color:PN bar:PN from:09/03/2008 till:08/03/2013 color:PN bar:PL from:10/03/2013 till:end color:PL

LineData = layer:back color:Election at:09/06/1924 at:07/08/1927 at:11/06/1932 at:22/07/1939 at:10/12/1945 at:25/10/1947 at:02/09/1950 at:05/05/1951 at:12/12/1953 at:26/02/1955 at:17/02/1962 at:26/03/1966 at:12/06/1971 at:17/09/1976 at:12/12/1981 at:10/05/1987 at:22/02/1992 at:26/10/1996 at:05/09/1998 at:12/04/2003 at:08/03/2008 at:09/03/2013 at:03/06/2017 at:26/03/2022 }}

== European elections == {{main|2024 European Parliament election in Malta|2019 European Parliament election in Malta|2014 European Parliament election in Malta|2009 European Parliament election in Malta|2004 European Parliament election in Malta}}

Malta, the smallest EU member state, includes around 0.1% of the total EU population. Maltese voters elect 6 MEPs (5 until 2011) to the European Parliament, or one every 69,342 voters - the lowest population-per-seat ratio in the EU,<ref>followed by the German-speaking community of Belgium (75,000) and by Luxembourg (83,000)</ref> 10 times smaller than the EU average (680,000) and 20 times smaller than the largest European Parliament constituency.<ref>Lubusz and West Pomeranian, Poland, 1,350,000 voters-per-seat</ref><ref name=DD>Davide Denti, [https://repozytorium.uwb.edu.pl/jspui/bitstream/11320/4932/1/ELECTIONS%20TO%20THE%20EUROPEAN%20PARLIAMENT%20AS%20A%20CHALLENGE%20FOR%20DEMOCRACY.pdf#page=263 The Electoral Law for the European Parliament in Malta. Effects for Europe of a Single Transferable Vote System in a Polarised Society], in Elżbieta Kużelewska and Dariusz Kloza (eds.), ELECTIONS TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AS A CHALLENGE FOR DEMOCRACY, Warszawa–Białystok, Aspra, 2013, pp. 263-278</ref>{{rp|263}} Malta is thus the extreme case in the curve of the degressive proportionality function that allocates European Parliament seats to EU Member States constituencies.{{cn|date=April 2026}}

European elections in Malta are held according to the single transferable vote (STV) system, consistently with domestic electoral systems and with EU standards requiring proportional representation and use either the list system or STV.<ref name=DD/>{{rp|263}}<ref>Article 223 TFEU and Council Decision 2002/772/EC, Euratom</ref>

Labour Party has won every EU election since 2004, As of 2024.{{cn|date=April 2026}}

== Local elections == In the 2015 local elections, 16-year-olds were allowed to vote for the first time. On 5 March 2018, 16-year-olds were given the right to vote in general elections.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180305/local/16-year-olds-granted-the-vote-in-national-elections.672453|title=16-year-olds granted the vote in national elections|last=Ltd|first=Allied Newspapers|work=Times of Malta|access-date=2018-05-02|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Referendums== There are three types of referendums in Malta: constitutional, consultative and abrogative referendums.{{cn|date=April 2026}}

The Constitution of Malta mentions the institute of referendum only in Article 66, sub-articles 3 and 4 (and even then implicitly).<ref name="constitution">{{cite web | title = Constitution of Malta | url = https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Malta | access-date = 2023-04-11 | website=Wikisource }}</ref> Those sub-articles requires that a bill be "[...] submitted to the electors [...] and the majority of the electors voting have approved the bill" in case it modifies:{{cn|date=April 2026}} * sub-article defining the length of parliamentary term to be five years (article 76, sub-article 2), or * sub-articles defining this procedure (article 66, sub-articles 3 and 4) Such referendum is binding. This type of referendum has never taken place.{{cn|date=April 2026}}

The other categories of referendums are regulated by the Referenda Act. "Consultative" referendums (the Act does not use the term) can either take place prior to the assent of a bill in the House of Representatives or following the parliamentary procedure in a form of a conditional clause in the said bill. In the former case it would not legally bind Parliament to approve the said legislation irrelevant of the result of the said referendum, however the latter case, it would be conventionally binding on the President to promulgate the bill into law. There has been six referendums like this on a national level, one on a regional level (1973 Gozo Civic Council referendum) and a number of local referendums organised by single Local Councils.{{cn|date=April 2026}}

An abrogative referendum has never been held and, if invoked and successful, can abrogate pieces of legislation barring some exceptions, notably financial and constitutional law.{{cn|date=April 2026}}

There was a total of 6 national referendums in Malta. Of those, 3 referendums were held while Malta was a British crown colony. Those were referendums on:{{cn|date=April 2026}} * eligibility of clergy to sit in the Council of Government in 1870 * integration with United Kingdom in 1956 * independence from United Kingdom in 1964 Three referendums were held in independent Malta:{{cn|date=April 2026}} * European Union membership referendum in 2003 * referendum on divorce in 2011 * referendum on spring hunting in 2015 There was also one local referendum in 1973 in region of Gozo. All seven were non-binding on the colonial and independent government. However, all resulted in a vote in favour of the proposal and, with the exception of the 1956 integration referendum, they were all honoured by the responsible government of the day.{{cn|date=April 2026}}

==See also== * Electoral calendar * Electoral system * Voter turnout

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.electoral.gov.mt/pageview.aspx?pid=30&pm=4&sm=0 Electoral Commission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080401162128/http://www.electoral.gov.mt/pageview.aspx?pid=30&pm=4&sm=0 |date=2008-04-01 }} * [http://www.doi.gov.mt/EN/elections/ Department of Information - Malta] * [http://www.maltadata.com/ Malta Data with details back to 1921] * [http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/m/malta/ Adam Carr's Election Archive] * [http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/malta.html Parties and elections] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130201004541/http://www.mychoice.pn/WebPages/EN/Malta-General-Election More on the Malta elections 2013]

Category:Elections in Malta