Existing state funding should be divided equitably - AD

Alternattiva Demokratika has reiterated that state funding of political parties, currently standing at some €200,000 annually and allocated on a regular basis to the PN and PL since 1994, should be distributed equitably according to voter share in the 2013 general elections.

Under AD's proposal, that would mean the Green Party takes 1.7% of the funding.

Education minister Evarist Bartolo has said that while existing state funding for political parties should not be increased now, the option should be kept open for the future, while Nationalist MP Paula Mifsud Bonnici said that an established party like AD should also be included in party financing.

Carmel Cacopardo, Deputy Chairperson, said that Alternattiva Demokratika in its various meetings with Justice Minister Owen Bonnici made this specific proposal, and that the party-financing bill should include a declaration in principle on the state financing of political parties to be implemented when Parliament considers it appropriate.

"AD has proposed that state financing already being disbursed should be distributed among political parties that are registered in accordance with the Bill currently being discussed and have presented candidates in the last General Elections in which they either elected MPs or else obtained not less than 1.5% of first count valid votes cast," Cacopardo said.

"ADhas not to date been informed of government’s reactions notwithstanding having submitted the proposal on the 28 July 2014," Cacopardo added.