Welcome to the donkey vote

Malta's electoral system may well promote the donkey vote. A study by MaltaToday shows that 75% of Labour candidates and 60% of PN candidates whose name appeared at the top of the list were elected in the most recent local election.

But being at the bottom of the list does not necessarily exclude you from being elected, even if you have less chance of being elected than someone at the top of the list.

In fact, a majority (54%) of Labour candidates whose names appeared at the bottom of the list were still elected, while 37% of PN candidates in the same position were also elected.

One major factor is the so-called "donkey vote" - the practice of numbering the candidates as they appear on the ballot paper, instead of numbering them according to one's preference.

Having a surname starting with an A, B or C gives a candidate a slight advantage over those with a surname starting with a V or a Z.

This is confirmed by an analysis of the latest round of local elections conducted by MaltaToday.

Candidates whose name appears on top of the party list - which is set in an alphabetical order - have a greater chance of being elected than those whose name appears at the bottom of the list.

In fact, nearly 75% of Labour candidates and 60% of PN candidates whose name appeared at the top of the list were elected in the most recent local election.

But being at the bottom of the list does not necessarily exclude you from being elected, even if you have less chance of being elected than someone at the top of the list.

In fact, a majority (54%) of Labour candidates whose names appeared at the bottom of the lost were still elected, while 37% of PN candidates in the same position were also elected.

One major factor is the so-called "donkey vote"- the practice of numbering the candidates as they appear on the ballot paper, instead of numbering them according to one's preference.

Even in general elections, those whose surnames top the list have a slight advantage.

But contrary to popular belief, the prevalence of MPs with a surname starting with an A, B or a C is not a consequence of the electoral system.

In fact, while 35% of directory pages are dedicated to surnames starting with A, B and C, only 32% of MPs have surnames starting with these letters.

But having a surname starting with the last letters of the alphabet is still a slight disadvantage. For while 22% of directory pages are dedicated to candidates with surnames staring with the last seven letters of the alphabet, only 16% of Maltese MPs have surnames starting with these letters.

Marginal impact

Former Nationalist Minister and electoral reform advocate Michael Falzon contends that  the alphabet mostly has a role in determining the last candidates to be elected in an election and could be crucial in casual elections.

Falzon points out that the alphabet mostly comes into play when weaker candidates are eliminated in later counts. Since political parties often advise voters to vote for all the party candidates, voters tend to become less selective after choosing their favourite top candidates. It is only at this stage that the "donkey vote" kicks in.

On the other hand, there is little evidence of the donkey vote in the first counts, which determine the election of most candidates.

In 2009, the alphabet proved a crucial factor in the election of John Attard Montalto as Labour's fourth MEP.

Attard Montalto had been written off because of a poor first-count result but he inherited thousands of votes as the weaker candidates dropped out of the race.

Attard Montalto made substantial gains from the elimination of Sharon Ellul Bonici and Claudette Abela Baldacchino (from whom he gained 9,000 votes), sailing past Joseph Cuschieri. He therefore managed to defeat Marlene Mizzi, who had a better first count result.

"If your surname does not begin with A, B or C do not run for politics," she said half-jokingly after being eliminated.

The Nationalist Party's two elected candidates also happened to be the first and second names on the list, but incumbency could have been more of factor in this case.

But having a V or Z surname does not automatically exclude candidates from getting elected.

In the most recent general election, Adrian Vassallo was still the second most voted PL candidate on the ninth district, while Ninu Zammit was the second most voted PN candidate in the fifth district.

In the latest council elections, despite being further down on the ballot sheet, controversial PN candidate Julian Galea still managed to get elected instead of Antoinette Castaldi Paris.

Moreover, in Mosta the two top PN candidates Paul Abela and Geraldine Anne Baldacchino were both eliminated from the race.

But PN candidate James Cassar seems to have benefited from the alphabetical advantage after Paul Abela's elimination.

Still, in St Paul's Bay the bottom two Labour candidates Mario Salerno and Ray Tabone were both elected. It was only after the eleventh count that the alphabet came to play at the advantage of candidates with a better position in the ballot sheet.

In Qormi, being on top of the list did not prevent Jesmond Aquilina from losing his mayor seat to Rosianne Cutajar, in a clear indication that the alphabet has no bearing on first-count results. But the alphabet had a bearing in determining the last PL candidates to be elected in Qormi. Marvin Zammit, who was last on the list, did not manage to get elected despite getting more first count votes than four other Labour candidates who were elected in the final counts.

An STV anomaly?

Studies conducted in the Republic of Ireland - which, like Malta, has a Single Transferable Vote system, with its candidates are listed alphabetically - have shown that candidates whose surnames begin with an early letter in the alphabet enjoy a small electoral advantage over candidates with later letters.

To solve this problem some systems involve a random ordering of candidates, or an ordering that changes from one ballot paper to another.

The latter system used in Tasmania is often called the Robson rotation, named after Neil Robson, a Tasmanian MHA who championed such a system.

Reforming the system

Former Minister Michael Falzon - an advocate of a national threshold - thinks that removing the alphabet anomaly is only a minor aspect of electoral reform which needs a more radical overhaul.

Neither does he favour piecemeal solutions like the random ordering of candidates.

Instead, Falzon would prefer political parties to take responsibility for the order in which candidates are presented in the ballot sheet.

"So far, political parties have ditched this responsibility on the electorate instead of clearly indicating which candidates should be on top of the list."

One of the reasons for shelving this responsibility on voters is to avoid internal conflicts between parties and candidates.

But Falzon believes that it should be the parties who should indicate which candidates should be at the top of the list.

He admits that such a step could create resentment among candidates who are relegated to the bottom of the list. But he believes that such a system parties would give voters a clear indication to voters on who would be the best candidates.