Former Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer fronts Kollettiv petition for electoral reform

The civil society group Il-Kollettiv has launched a campaign for a reform of the electoral system that would ensure a representative democracy by introducing a minimum threshold.

The NGO will collect signatures from the public via an online petition hosted on the site of the Maltese Parliament, calling for the immediate opening of a consultation process with the aim of carrying out the reform within this legislature.

“Through this petition, Il-Kollettiv seeks to give a representation to the 143,028 voters who chose to vote for independent and smaller parties – or to abstain – in the last European Parliament elections held on the 8th June. These amount to 38.6% of the electorate; out of these, 12.7% voted for independent or smaller candidates,” deputy secretary Cyrus Engerer, the former Labour MEP, said.

Engerer did not contest June’s MEP elections, after entering the European Parliament in 2020, claiming he had been “orphaned” by Malta’s political system.

The petition calls on the House of Representatives to immediately and during this legislature, launch a wide-ranging consultation process on the electoral system; discuss the introduction of a national threshold that guarantees a full representation of the Maltese electorate; and initiate the full process leading to an electoral reform, which presents a fairer system as from the next general elections.

Engerer, together with University of Malta deputy dean at the Faculty of Social Wellbeing, Claire Azzopardi Lane, and activist Omar Rababah presented the petition on behalf of the group.

“A democracy is only strong when it represents the smaller voices, and not only at election time. An analysis of the votes achieved by the independent and smaller parties will show that, at 12.7%, it will equate to 10 of the 79 seats in national Parliament. In reality, however, the present system works in favour of the two big parties, and this means that no independent or third party will ever be elected,” the activists said,.

“At every election, various representatives of the two major parties insist that voting for a smaller party is equal to wasting your vote. After 143,028 voters chose not to vote for either government or opposition parties, it’s high time that they are given a fair representation in our democracy. Through this petition, the public has the chance to show that it wants to be represented in the running of the country.”

The public can access and sign the petition in Maltese or in English.