2017 Maltese general election

General elections were held in Malta on Saturday, 3 June 2017 to elect all members of the House of Representatives. The elections were contested by the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, the Nationalist Party, led by opposition leader Simon Busuttil, and four other parties, making it the elections with most parties participating since 1962.[1]

2017 Maltese general election

3 June 2017

65+ seats in the House of Representatives
33+ seats needed for a majority
Turnout92.06%
  First party Second party
 
Leader Joseph Muscat Simon Busuttil
Party Labour Forza Nazzjonali
(PNPD)
Last election 54.83%, 39 seats 43.34%, 30 seats
Seats won 37 30
Seat change Decrease 2 Steady
Popular vote 170,976 135,696
Percentage 55.04% 43.68%
Swing Increase0.21pp Increase0.34pp


Prime Minister before election

Joseph Muscat
Labour Party

Elected Prime Minister

Joseph Muscat
Labour Party

The Labour Party won a second term in government for the first time since 1976, receiving 55% of the vote, the highest share since 1955.[2] Voter turnout was 92%, down 1pp from 2013.[3]

Background

The previous general elections were held on Saturday, 9 March 2013. The Labour Party, led by Muscat, defeated the incumbent Nationalist Party of Lawrence Gonzi in a landslide victory, taking 39 seats in the House of Representatives, against 30 for the Nationalist Party.[4] However, on 5 February 2015 the Constitutional Court ordered two additional seats to be given to the Nationalist Party, increasing the total number of seats to 71.[5][6] The Labour Party then lost a seat when Marlene Farrugia resigned from the Labour parliamentary group, to later form the Democratic Party.[7][8]

Following the defeat, Gonzi stepped down as leader of the Nationalists, with Simon Busuttil taking his place on 13 May.[9]

Muscat was sworn in as the new Prime Minister on 11 March. The cabinet of 15 ministers was the largest cabinet in Maltese history.[10] This record was again surpassed when Muscat announced a cabinet reshuffle following the appearance of Minister Konrad Mizzi's name in the Panama Papers; the new cabinet featured 16 ministers as well as the Prime Minister.[11] Mizzi was included in the new cabinet as Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister.[12] Prior to the 2013 elections, Muscat had pledged that the size of his Cabinet would never exceed the size of the largest Cabinet of the Fenech Adami administrations, the largest of which consisted of 13 ministers.[11]

Further to the outbreak of the Panama Papers, where the already mentioned Mizzi and Keith Schembri, the Chief of Staff within the Office of the Prime Minister were included as owners of a Panama company, together with an unnamed owner of a third company, the Maltese government was receiving copious amounts of pressure by civil society, spearheaded by blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia, but also by the Nationalist Party, especially Leader of the Opposition Simon Busuttil.[13] Nexia BT, a Maltese audit firm, claimed ownership of Egrant.[14]

Whitehall Mansions in Ta' Xbiex, which among other tenants houses Pilatus Bank

On 20 April 2017, Caruana Galizia, published a series of articles linking Joseph Muscat, Konrad Mizzi, Brian Tonna (managing partner at Nexia BT, owner of BT International, which is the sole shareholder in the Maltese Mossack Fonseca franchise).[15] Muscat called a press conference stating that he asked for an inquiry into Caruana Galizia's claims, categorically denying any wrongdoing and labelling the allegations as "the biggest lie in Malta's political history".[16] Around two hours later, Pilatus Bank Chairman Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, an Iranian with a St. Kitts and Nevis passport, was spotted exiting the bank with a colleague, each carrying a piece of luggage.[17] Hasheminejad declined to give further information.[18] Police raided Pilatus Bank on 21 April, however this was deemed as being too late by the PN media since that night a "mysterious" ferry flight operated by VistaJet was en route to Baku, Azerbaijan.[19][20][21] Further to this, PN leader Busuttil called for Muscat's resignation and announced a national demonstration against corruption, also deeming inappropriate the Police's "inaction" since the Police Commissioner was enjoying dinner in a restaurant.[22][18][23] Michael Briguglio, an Alternattiva Demokratika politician, agreed that the Prime Minister should resign and tweeted that he would be joining the protest.[23]

On 1 May 2017 Muscat announced a snap election to take place on 3 June 2017.[24][25][26] The announcement was made during a May Day rally organised by the Labour Party in Valletta.[27] The reason cited was to safeguard economic stability from the power hungry.[28]

Electoral system

The Maltese voting system is a variant of proportional representation, achieved through the use of the single transferable vote, with five MPs to be returned from each of thirteen districts. The five seat electoral district system is maintained by the parties represented in the House of Representatives but is not a constitutional requirement. Overall, there are 65 constituency seats, with a variable number of at-large seats (up to four) added in some cases, to ensure that the overall first-preference vote is reflected in the composition of the House of Representatives, that is, that the party with the most votes has a majority of seats.[29]

In the 2017 election, two top-up seats were added, upping the Nationalist seat count by two seats.

Participating parties

Labour Party poster implying that Simon Busuttil and Marlene Farrugia disagree on proposals
Moviment Patrijotti Maltin driving with loud speaker in Mġarr
Zaren tal-Ajkla support

The Maltese political landscape is regarded as one of the most pure two-party systems of the 21st century,[30] and has been dominated by moderate centre-left and centre-right groups for decades; no third parties had elected MPs since the 1962 election. Six parties fielded candidates in the 2017 election, the first time since 1962 that Maltese voters had that many parties on the ballot:[1]

  • The Labour Party (PL) of incumbent Prime Minister Joseph Muscat held a majority in the legislature since the 2013 election, with 38 MPs at dissolution. The Labour Party traditionally pursues social democratic ideals, and is rooted in the mainstream European centre-left.
  • The Nationalist Party (PN) of opposition leader Simon Busuttil is the major opposition party in parliament, with 29 MPs at dissolution. The party's last prime minister was Lawrence Gonzi, who also served as prime minister from 2004 to 2013. For much of its history, the PN has embraced conservatism and Christian democracy, as well as European integration.
  • The Democratic Party (PD) which was founded when Labour MP Marlene Farrugia left her party on 4 June 2016. It had 1 MP (Farrugia herself) at dissolution. On 28 April 2017, the PD formed the Forza Nazzjonali coalition with the PN. Under the agreement candidates contested the election as Nationalist candidates, with the additional descriptor "tal-oranġjo", and any elected PD members would have participated in a potential Nationalist-led government.[31]
  • The Democratic Alternative (AD), led by Carmel Cacopardo, is a contemporary party in Malta. It is, however, not represented in parliament. Established in 1989, the party stresses green politics and sustainable development.
  • Moviment Patrijotti Maltin (MPM), an offshoot of the anti-immigration group Għaqda Patrijotti Maltin led by Henry Battistino which campaigns against illegal immigration, Malta's participation in the Schengen Area, and Islam in Malta.[32][33]
  • Alleanza Bidla (AB), a conservative Christian and Eurosceptic party led by Ivan Grech Mintoff.[1]

Opinion polls

Prior to the announcement of the election, opinion polls showed the Labour Party with a consistent lead over the Nationalist Party of around 5 percentage points. Opinion polls conducted during the campaign continued to show similar results.

Candidates and returned MPs

Below is a list of the candidates who ran in the 2017 general election; they are listed in the order used by the Maltese Electoral Commission. Party leaders are marked with an asterisk, while all candidates that successfully obtained a seat in the election, as reported by the electoral commission,[34] are marked in bold. Individual candidates may contest more than one constituency, meaning the some names appear in multiple cells.[35] It is possible for a candidate to be elected in two districts, in which case they resign from one and that seat is assigned to a person of the same party.[36]

District Labour Party Nationalist Party
(+Democratic Party)
Democratic Alternative Moviment Patrijotti Maltin Alleanza Bidla Independents
District 1[37] Aaron Farrugia
Deo Debattista
Luciano Busuttil
Joseph Matthew Attard
Silvio Parnis
Joe Cilia
Jose Herrera
Carlo Stivala
Davina Sammut Hili
Edward Torpiano
Mario De Marco
Ray Bugeja
Paula Mifsud Bonnici
Anthony Buttigieg
Justin Schembri
Liam Sciberras
Claudio Grech
Herman Farrugia
Marc'Andrea Cassar Simon Borg
Henry Battistino*
Ivan Grech Mintoff* Joseph Aquilina
District 2[38] Joe Mizzi
Stefan Buontempo
Deo Debattista
Byron Camilleri
Joseph Muscat*
Glenn Bedingfield
Chris Agius
Helena Dalli
Mark Causon
Carmelo Abela
Doris Borg
Mary Bezzina
Salvu Mallia
Jason Zammit
Angelo Micallef
Errol Cutajar
Charles Bonello
Ruben Teeling
Malcolm Bezzina
Josie Muscat
Kevin Cassar
Stephen Spiteri
Ivan Bartolo
Mario Mallia
Christian Mizzi
Norman Scicluna
Alexander Darmanin
Naged Megally
District 3[39] Owen Bonnici
Joe Mizzi
Sebastian Muscat
Chris Fearne
Edric Micallef
Kenneth Spiteri
Mario Calleja
Marion Mizzi
Chris Agius
Etienne Grech
Helena Dalli
Silvio Grixti
Carmelo Abela
Jean Claude Micallef
John Baptist Camilleri
Raymond Caruana
Janice Chetcuti
Mary Bezzina
Jason Zammit
Errol Cutajar
Carm Mifsud Bonnici
Mario Galea
Charlot Cassar
Amanda Abela
Catherine Farrugia
Mario Rizzo Naudi
Josie Muscat
Stephen Spiteri
Christian Mizzi Graziella Borg Duca
Alexander Darmanin
Nazzareno Bonnici
District 4[40] Stefan Buontempo
Konrad Mizzi
Chris Fearne
Byron Camilleri
Andrew Ellul
Silvio Parnis
Joe Cilia
Etienne Grech
Dominic Grima
Rita Sammut
Jason Azzopardi
Aaron Micallef Piccione
Caroline Galea
Ivan Bartolo
Charles Bonello
Carm Mifsud Bonnici
Therese Comodini Cachia
Catherine Farrugia
Lawrence Bonavia
Liam Sciberras
Mark Sammut
Carmel Cacopardo Stephen Florian
Norman Scicluna
Desmond Falzon
Henry Battistino*
District 5[41] Julia Farrugia Portelli
Joseph Cutajar
Owen Bonnici
Roderick Cachia
Sebastian Muscat
Luciano Busuttil
Joe Farrugia
Edric Micallef
Joseph Muscat*
Glenn Bedingfield
Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi
Mario Calleja
Carlo Stivala
Rita Sammut
Hermann Schiavone
Norman Vella
Stanley Zammit
Anthony Bezzina
Nick Refalo
Marlene Farrugia
Shirley Cauchi
Mario Rizzo Naudi
Mary Grace Vella
Noel Galea
Pascal Aloisio Simon Borg
Johann Ferriggi
District 6[42] Gavin Gulia
Ian Borg
Silvio Schembri
Roderick Galdes
Rosianne Cutajar
Robert Abela
Clyde Puli
Ryan Callus
George Muscat
Alessia Psaila Zammit
Amanda Abela
Karol Aquilina
Monique Agius
Peter Micallef
Kevin Cassar
Godfrey Farrugia
Simon Galea Graziella Borg Duca Saviour Xuereb
District 7[43] Gavin Gulia
Julia Farrugia Portelli
Anthony Agius Decelis
Charles Azzopardi
Ian Borg
Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi
Ian Castaldi Paris
Silvio Schembri
Edward Scicluna
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando
Paul Mazzola
Dounia Borg
Beppe Fenech Adami
Antione Borg
Sam Abela
Ian Mario Vassallo
Edwin Vassallo
Monique Agius
Lee Bugeja Bartolo
Peter Micallef
David Vassallo
Godfrey Farrugia
Jean Pierre Debono
Ralph Cassar Johann Ferriggi
Anthony Calleja
Alex Pisani
Joseph Giardina
District 8[44] Ian Castaldi Paris
Edward Scicluna
Edward Zammit Lewis
Rachel Tua
Chris Cardona
Rosianne Cutajar
Alex Muscat
Beppe Fenech Adami
David Agius
Timothy Alden
Michael Asciak
Malcolm Bezzina
Lee Bugeja Bartolo
Claudette Buttigieg
Therese Comodini Cachia
Vincent (Censu) Galea
Angelo Micallef
Giorgio Mario Schembri
Justin Schembri
David Thake
Norman Vella
Mario Mallia
Pascal Aloisio
Romina Farrugia Randon
Ġużeppi Sammut
District 9[45] Edward Zammit Lewis
Sigmund Mifsud
Clifton Grima
Manuel Mallia
Nikita Zammit Alamango
Michael Falzon
Conrad Borg Manche
Alan Abela Wadge
Charles Selvaggi
Francis Zammit Dimech
Karl Gouder
Wayne Hewitt
Robert Arrigo
Noel Muscat
George Pullicino
Graziella Attard Previ
Ivan Bartolo
Timothy Alden
Albert Buttigieg
Duncan Bonnici
Roselyn Borg Knight
Evelyn Vella Brincat
Justin Fenech
Marthese Portelli
Mark Azzopardi
Kristy Debono
Herman Farrugia
Arnold Cassola*
Danika Formosa
Ġużeppi Sammut
Desmond Falzon
Elizabeth Claire Mikkelsen
District 10[46] Evarist Bartolo
Sigmund Mifsud
Clifton Grima
Manuel Mallia
Mark Causon
Nikita Zammit Alalmango
Michael Falzon
Jean Claude Micallef
Conrad Borg Manche
Marion Mizzi
Alan Abela Wadge
Charles Salvaggi
Francis Zimmit Dimech
Anne Marie Muscat Fenech Adami
Karl Gouder
Christopher Sansone
Wayne Hewitt
Robert Arrigo
Noel Muscat
George Pullincino
Nick Refalo
Graziella Attard Previ
Ray Bugeja
Karol Aqulina
Albert Buttigieg
Marlene Farrugia
Anthony Buttigieg
Roselyn Borg (Borg Knight)
Brincat Evelyn Vella
Justin Fenech
Jason Zammit
Arnold Cassola*
Danika Formosa
Fatima Hassanin Elizabeth Claire Mikkelsen
District 11[47] Anthony (Tony) Agius Decelis
Alex Muscat
Fleur Vella
Michael Farrugia
Chris Cardona
Deborah Schembri
Rachel Tua
Connie Scerri
Simon Busuttil
Graziella Galea
Alex Perici Calascione
Maria Deguara
Alex Mangion
Carmel (Charles) Polidano
Shirley Cauchi
Edwin Vassallo
Simone Aquilana
Giorgio Mario Schembri
Ivan Bartolo
David Agius
Carmel Cacopardo
Ralph Cassar
Romina Farrugia Randon
Naged Megally
Saviour Xuereb
District 12[48] Evarist Bartolo
Fleur Vella
Franco Mercieca
Kenneth Spiteri
Joseph Matthew Attard
Alfred Grima
Michael Farrugia
Deborah Schembri
Clayton Bartolo
Robert Cutajar
David Thake
Anne Marie Muscat Fenech Adami
Salvu Mallia
Simon Busuttil
Edward Torpiano
Graziella Galea
Claudette Buttigieg
Sam Abela
Maria Deguara
Duncan Bonnici
Simone Aquilina
Mark Azzopardi
Simon Galea
Luke Caruana
Anthony Calleja
Fatima Hassanin
Ivan Grech Mintoff*
Joseph Giardina
Joseph Aquilina
District 13[49] Anton Refalo
Joe Cordina
George Camilleri
Franco Mercieca
Justyne Caruana
Clint Camilleri
Ryan Mercieca
Vincent (Ċensu) Galea
Carmel (Charles) Polidano
Maria Portelli
Kevin Cutajar
David Stellini
Chris Said
Frederick Azzopardi
Jason Zammit
Marthese Portelli
Joseph Ellis
Luke Caruana Stephen Florian Nazzareno Bonnici

The names of the 65 MPs returned for the districts are in bold in the list above. In addition to these, two Nationalist candidates (Carm Mifsud Bonnici and Frederick Azzopardi) were awarded at-large seats in accordance with the proportional representation system.[50]

Results

The 13 separate district election contests produced 37 Labour MPs and 28 Nationalist MPs. Two at-large seats were awarded to the Nationalist Party.[50]

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Labour Party170,97655.0437–2
Forza Nazzjonali (PNPD)[lower-alpha 1]135,69643.68300
Democratic Alternative2,5640.8300
Moviment Patrijotti Maltin1,1170.360New
Alleanza Bidla2210.070New
Independents910.0300
Total310,665100.0067–2
Valid votes310,66598.72
Invalid/blank votes4,0311.28
Total votes314,696100.00
Registered voters/turnout341,85692.06
Source: Electoral Commission

Reactions

Labourites celebrating in Sliema the day after the election

Once preliminary results were known, Muscat claimed victory and Busuttil conceded defeat.[52][53][54] Muscat declared the result to be an endorsement of his government's programme, stating that "It is clear that the people have chosen to stay the course."[55]

Busuttil tendered his resignation as Nationalist Party leader, along with that of the entire administration of the Nationalist Party, following the defeat.[56] The party began the process of selecting a new leader, which was expected to be complete by September.[57] Despite this, leading Nationalist Robert Arrigo wrote an open letter to Busuttil imploring him to rescind his resignation.[58]

The Democratic Party celebrated the election of its leader Marlene Farrugia as their first-ever elected MP as a 'historic result'.[59]

Notes

  1. According to reports from the Times of Malta, Democratic Party candidates received 4,846 (1.56%) of the votes cast for Forza Nazzjonali.[51]

References

  1. Sansone, Kurt (18 December 2016). "Expect a long ballot sheet next general election". Times of Malta. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  2. Muscat to be sworn in tomorrow at 11am Times of Malta, 4 June 2017
  3. "Electoral Commission Malta". Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  4. Labour wins by a landslide in Malta EU Observer, 11 March 2013
  5. PN gets two additional seats in parliament • Muscat: 'Labour will respect decision' Malta Today, 25 November 2016
  6. Constitutional Court orders PN to be given 2 more seats in House, appeal to be filed The Malta Independent, 5 February 2015
  7. Marlene Farrugia resigns from Labour Party, says 'I want to remain the people's voice' Times of Malta, 17 November 2015
  8. "Marlene Farrugia elected Democratic Party leader". Times of Malta. 22 October 2016.
  9. 2015: The year of reckoning for Busuttil Malta Today, 6 January 2015
  10. Largest-ever cabinet sworn in The Malta Business Weekly, 14 March 2013
  11. Cabinet changes bloats costs by €1m a year; team is largest in Malta's history Times of Malta, 7 May 2016
  12. Konrad Mizzi, Keith Schembri to remain at Castille; Mallia returns to Cabinet The Malta Independent, 28 April 2016
  13. "Protesters call for resignation of Malta's prime minister". The Guardian. Reuters. 10 April 2016.
  14. "Nexia BT insists Egrant company opened in Panama is theirs - The Malta Independent". www.independent.com.mt.
  15. "Nexia BT refuses to answer many PANA committee questions citing legal issues". 22 February 2017 via PressReader.
  16. Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Muscat asks inquiring magistrate to investigate Egrant claims".
  17. "Esklussiva Bil-Filmat: Persuni jaħarbu mill-binja ta' Pilatus; ma jwieġbux lil Net News".
  18. Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Watch: Pilatus Bank denies Muscat links as chairman declines to comment on Azeri ties".
  19. "Updated: Mysterious flight to Baku recorded, plane later flies to Dubai - The Malta Independent". www.independent.com.mt.
  20. "'Ferry flight' leaves Luqa in middle of the night, destination Azerbaijan".
  21. "Filmat: Wara li telqu bil-bagalji...issa l-Pulizija waslu fil-Bank Pilatus".
  22. "Każ Egrant: Carmelo Abela sieket dwar il-fenkata tal-Kummissarju".
  23. Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Simon Busuttil calls for Prime Minister's resignation".
  24. "Maltese PM calls June 3 snap election after 'attacks on my family'". 1 May 2017 via Reuters.
  25. "Malta PM Joseph Muscat calls snap general election". 1 May 2017 via www.bbc.com.
  26. (http://www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Malta PM calls early elections amid wife's offshore account scandal - News - DW - 01.05.2017". DW.COM.
  27. General election on 3 June, parliament dissolved Times of Malta, 1 May 2017
  28. "PM announces General Election for 3rd of June - "I am not ready to sacrifice the successes for those ready for everything to achieve power" - TVM News". Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  29. "How Malta Votes: An Overview - Malta Elections". www.um.edu.mt.; Wikipedia: Maltese general election, 1987
  30. Wolfgang Hirczy de Miño & John C. Lane (1999) Malta: STV in a two-party system
  31. Camilleri, Ivan (28 April 2017). "PD candidates to contest on PN list". Times of Malta. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  32. "Moviment Patrijotti Maltin call for referendum on integration". The Malta Independent. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  33. Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Patriotti Maltin to contest the general election".
  34. "Electoral Commission Malta - 2017 General Election". Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  35. "Final List: Electoral Commission receives 377 nominations". Times of Malta. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  36. Grofman, Bernard (2000). Bowler, Shaun (ed.). Elections in Australia, Ireland, and Malta under the single transferable vote : reflections on an embedded institution ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Ann Arbor, Mich.: Univ. of Michigan Press. p. 89. ISBN 9780472111596.
  37. "Nominations – District 1". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  38. "Nominations – District 2". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  39. "Nominations – District 3". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  40. "Nominations – District 4". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  41. "Nominations – District 5". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  42. "Nominations – District 6". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  43. "Nominations – District 7". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  44. "Nominations – District 8". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  45. "Nominations – District 9". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  46. "Nominations – District 10". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  47. "Nominations – District 11". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  48. "Nominations – District 12". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  49. "Nominations – District 13". electoral.gov.mt. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  50. "Carm Mifsud Bonnici, Frederick Azzopardi take two additional PN seats, bringing total to 30". Malta Independent. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  51. Blog: Muscat sworn in as Prime Minister Times of Malta, 5 June 2017
  52. "Malta election: PM Joseph Muscat wins snap poll". BBC. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  53. "Malta's Muscat wins snap election". 4 June 2017.
  54. "Maltese PM Muscat wins second term in snap election". Reuters. 4 June 2017.
  55. "Labour cruises to 55% majority; Muscat says people have chosen to stay the course". Times of Malta. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  56. "Simon Busuttil steps down as PN leader after crushing defeat". Times of Malta. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  57. "Watch: PN's 23,000 members to vote for new leader". Times of Malta. No. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  58. "Growing calls for Simon Busuttil to stay on - Robert Arrigo issues open letter". Times of Malta. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  59. "PD celebrates 'historic result'". Times of Malta. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
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