Cacopardo will file constitutional challenge if ADPD national vote equals a quota

ADPD chairperson Carmel Cacopardo has said the Green Party will challenge Malta’s electoral law inside the Constitutional Court should the party achieve a national vote count equivalent to a quota.

Cacopardo accused the Maltese electoral system of discriminating against third parties, by offering a proportionate number of seats to the parties whose candidates are individually elected in constituencies.

Cacopardo however is insisting that should ADPD reach an overall national vote that is equivalent to the average quota for all elected seats, the party will be challenging the electoral mechanism in court.

“Should ADPD reach a national vote count equivalent to a seat, I expect the party to have that seat. Because the rules as they stand are discriminatory, since the adjustment for proportionality only applies to two parties whose candidates are elected to the House,” Cacopardo said.

Since its founding in 1989 as Alternattiva Demokratika, ADPD has never achieved the election of a candidate from any of Malta’s 13 districts. It obtained its highest showing in 2013, with a nationwide 1.8% of the national vote, or 5,506 votes.

Addressing the press outside the steps of the Auberge de Castille, Cacopardo railed against the Maltese electoral system, which he said sought only to control and not offer fair representation.

“It is now also our turn to say enough is enough! After voters carry out their duty on Saturday, if necessary, if the discriminatory rules are applied towards ADPD, these will be contested in the constitutional fora. Once parliament has deliberately imposed such discriminatory rules to abet the PLPN such action will be our only remedy. We intend to use it. To ensure that each vote counts, not just those for the PLPN duopoly,” Cacopardo said.