Labour files complaint against Electoral Commission over PN’s two additional seats

The Labour Party has taken the Electoral Commission to the Constitutional Court in objection to its decision to grant the Nationalist Party two extra seats in Parliament.

Labour won 37 seats in Saturday’s election against the PN’s 28, a nine-seat gap that was proportionally larger than the 35,280 vote margin between the two parties. As compensation, the Electoral Commission granted two extra seats to the PN – which went to Carm Mifsud Bonnici and Frederick Azzopardi.

However, Labour is contesting this decision on the grounds that the PN’s 28 elected MPs include Partit Demokratiku leader Marlene Farrugia, who had contested the election on the PN ticket as part of the ‘Forza Nazzjonali’ coalition.

It is noting that Malta’s electoral law states the proportionality mechanism can only lick in if there is only one minority party.

“Throughout the election campaign, the PN and the PD distinguished themselves as two separate and distinct parties and had said from the outset that their MPs will represent their respective parties,” the PL wrote in its court complaint. “The PD candidates even used the slogan ‘Tal-Orangjo, Orange’ to distinguish themselves as a separate party on the voting sheet, to allow voters to distinguish between the PN and PD candidates.”

Labour called on the Constitutional Court to officially declare that the next Parliament will be composed of three parties - the PL as the majority party, and the PN and the PD as two minority parties – and that there will therefore be no need for the proportionality mechanism to kick in. 

The PN accused Labour of acting hard-headedly and of disrespecting the will of the people.

“In court, the PN will defend the will of the people as well as Malta’s constitutional law. The PN got 135,696 votes in the election and each and every one of these votes should be represented in Parliament, with the government enjoying a seven seat majority.”