GozoNews.Com

Alternattiva Demokratika maintains that the agreement reached between the MLP and PN is anti-democratic. It is shameful that the two big parties have agreed to make Gozitan’s votes weigh less than those of the Maltese.

This so called agreement between Labour and Nationalists with regards to Gozo is a confirmation that both parties do not believe that Gozitans deserve the appropriate representation in parliament. It is evident that in order to suit the two big parties interests, Gozitans will be treated as second class citizens. This is unacceptable in a democracy where everyone should be guaranteed fair representation.

Dr.Harry Vassallo, Chairperson for AD said “even though the PN and MLP have agreed to keep Gozo as one district, they are not considering increasing Gozo’s representation given the increase in the number of people who will be voting in Gozo”.

Dr.Vassallo also said that “once again both the PN and the MLP’s hunger for power have obscured the possibility of fair representation in our electoral system.”

Mr.Stephen Cachia, Deputy Chairperson for AD said that “instead of reaching an agreement that respects democratic rights for all, the PN and MLP are safeguarding their interests at the expense of everybody else.”

The changes that guarantee strict proportionality between the number of votes and the actual seats in parliament in case that only two parties get elected, does in no way guarantee proportionality between the number of votes and the number of seats in parliament on a national level. Infact the threshold for a party to be elected in parliament remains 16% of votes on one district. In practice this means the PN and MLP are giving themselves strict proportionality while taking away other parties’ proportional representation which do not get the 15% threshold on one district, but who would still deserve representation in parliament if this strict proportionality would be calculated on a national level.

Mr. Cachia added that “this is an act of cowardice. If both PN and MLP had the courage with regards to their supposed democratic credentials, then they should guarantee strict proportionality for everyone, not just themselves. This could be easily achieved if there is agreement on a national quota.”

He also said that this agreement does in no way eliminate the risk of a perverse result if more than two parties get elected in parliament.

Mr.Victor Galea, Secretary General for AD said “I am confident that the general public is aware that the only method to get rid of our country’s political duopoly, is to use one’s vote intelligently instead of wasting it on any of the two big parties whose sole interest is to maintain the status quo.”