Should elections be held every four years, Alfred Sant asks

Malta’s Constitution sets the term of a legislature at five years but the prime minister has the prerogative of calling an election whenever he wants.

This prerogative is often used by the incumbent prime minister to seek the date that gives him the best possible political advantage over his rival, despite the rhetoric that the decision is taken in the national interest.

Now, former Labour prime minister Alfred Sant, whose own administration in 1996 was truncated after 22 months when it lost a vote of confidence in parliament, is suggesting that recent history raises the question as to whether the five-year term is too long.

Sant said in Facebook post on Wednesday: “Since the 1992 election, it has almost become a custom that elections are held earlier than the five years mentioned in the Constitution. Could this perhaps be a sign that five years is too long for a legislature and there is a legitimate argument for the ‘normal’ term to return to what it was in the first years of Malta’s constitution: a four-year period?”

A look at the last seven general election since 1992 shows that on five occasions, the election was held three months or more before the natural end of the legislature. On one of these occasions – 1998 – the government was constrained to go to the polls three years early because it lost a vote of confidence in parliament.

In 1992 and 1996, then prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami called the election three months and four months early, respectively. In 2003, Fenech Adami called the election five months early just after people voted in favour of EU membership in a referendum. With the Labour opposition at the time not recognising the referendum result and insisting that only an election would decide EU membership, Fenech Adami took the gamble and called the election.

The two Lawrence Gonzi administrations that ended in 2008 and 2013, lasted their full terms. In 2008, the election only came a month early, while in 2013 the election was held on time in March although government had lost a budget vote in December.

The June 2017 election was called nine months before the due date with then prime minister Joseph Muscat pinning the decision on the Egrant claims. However, it has transpired in court testimony that people close to government knew that plans were already in place by December 2016 to hold the election in June as Malta’s presidency of the EU came to an end.

But while Sant is suggesting that a four-year term for a legislature may appear to be more appealing, others like ADPD chairperson Carmel Cacopardo are suggesting a fixed term mandate.

The suggestion is included in ADPD’s proposals for the constitutional convention. “It is right for the prime minister not to have discretion on when to call an election… ADPD has proposed a fixed-term parliament with a fixed election date as is the situation in the US,” Cacopardo wrote in a Facebook post.

Prime Minister Robert Abela has allowed growing speculation on whether an election will be held next month to fester. While insisting that the legislature ends in June, he has refused to rule out an election this year.

Speculation is rife that a general election will be held on 27 November. If this is the case, Abela has until 26 October to announce the date.

An election on 20 November is now not an option since the Prime Minister would have had to go to the President yesterday after delivering his budget speech.

The minimum period between, when the election is called and polling day is 33 days and the maximum is three months.

READ ALSO: Robert Abela sets no election date despite poll tease

General elections

1992: Election held in February, 3 months early

1996: Election held in October, 4 months early

1998: Election held in September, 3 years early after government lost confidence vote

2003: Election held in April, 5 months early after EU membership referendum

2008: Election held in March, a month early

2013: Election held in March after a full term, although government lost a budget vote in December

2017: Election held in June, 9 months early

Next election due date June-September 2022: The current legislature expires naturally in June 2022 but the maximum timeframe for an election campaign is 3 months, which means an election can be held at the very latest in September.