Elections in Malta
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Malta uses
Legislature
The
Latest Legislative elections
Timeline of formed governments since 1921
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/mrjvfvccl0eoja4mf75k9hcopjcz9ww.png)
European elections
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,[2] 10 times smaller than the EU average (680,000) and 20 times smaller than the largest European Parliament constituency.[3][4]: 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.
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.[4]: 263 [5]
Local elections
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In the
Referendums
There are three types of referendums in Malta: constitutional, consultative and abrogative referendums.
The Constitution of Malta mentions the institute of referendum only in Article 66, sub-articles 3 and 4 (and even then implicitly).[7] 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:
- 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.
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
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.
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:
- 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:
- European Union membership referendum in 2003
- referendum on divorce in 2011
- referendum on spring hunting in 2015
There was also one
See also
- Electoral calendar
- Electoral system
- Voter turnout
References
- ^ "Updated | Marlene Farrugia elected on 10th district, George Pullicino out of race". MaltaToday.com.mt. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
- ^ followed by the German-speaking community of Belgium (75,000) and by Luxembourg (83,000)
- ^ Lubusz and West Pomeranian, Poland, 1,350,000 voters-per-seat
- ^ a b Davide Denti, 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
- ^ Article 223 TFEU and Council Decision 2002/772/EC, Euratom
- ^ Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "16-year-olds granted the vote in national elections". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
- ^ "Constitution of Malta". Wikisource. Retrieved 2023-04-11.