How long has it been since you surfed the web? How would you like to surf the electoral districts?
My experience in the latter regime is beyond discussion. Over the last 25 years or so, ever since I decided to run for Parliament in 1980, thanks to the ever-changing electoral boundaries, I have possibly surfed across most of central and north/north west of Malta.
Hailing from Rabat, it was obvious that I would contest the district which incorporates my home town. During the first two elections I contested, in 1981 and 1987, Rabat formed part of the electoral district that also incorporated Attard, Lija and Balzan. The 1992 election saw Rabat being moved to the 12th district which then also incorporated Mtarfa, Mgarr, Saint Paul’s Bay and Mellieha. This situation persisted until the end of 2000, when the districts were realigned in such a way that Rabat, together with Mtarfa and Mosta, formed the new 11th district.
Now another upheaval seems to be on the cards. Rabat, together with Mgarr, Dingli, Mtarfa and Zebbug, are to form the new seventh district.
Every time there is a substantial change in the electoral boundaries, one has to re-adjust one’s campaigning, make new alliances and find new supporters and canvassers as well as, in part, start all over again in the different villages and towns which have been reassigned.
This is no easy job, as (and perhaps rightly so) voters in the various villages tend to keep their loyalty towards some other candidate who looked after the locality’s interests in the past. Moreover, it is not just a question of getting to attend a new party club/office in the new villages but also getting to know the people, their customs, their expectations and their priorities.
Last Monday gave us the pleasure of a parliamentary debate regarding all this. Both the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition gave their views on the subject, with the latter claiming that, according to his party’s IT gurus, the newly realigned districts would give a three-seat majority to the Nationalist Party, should the PN get a 10,000 majority in the next general election. On the other hand, the PN calculates that with a 12,000+ majority, as happened in the 2003 election, the result would be 32 PN and 33 MLP elected members.
As a result of the recent exercise by the Electoral Commission, we will have to invoke the pertinent sections in the Constitution whereby, if there is a two-party elected House of Representatives, then two people from the Nationalist Party’s unelected candidates would have to be called upon to sit in the House. This would result in a very tight, single seat, working majority in Parliament.
However, notwithstanding the arguments for and against the introduction of changes in Malta’s electoral boundaries, a sorer point of contention seems to be the proposal that part of Gozo is to be included in the new 12th district, which sees Ghajnsielem join Mellieha, Saint Paul’s Bay etc.
I would not go as far as calling this the disfranchising of the Ghajnsielem electorate, but it will definitely put greater pressure on Maltese candidates who, it seems, will soon find that part of Gozo is now part of their district, and will create a greater handicap for any Gozitan candidate who may opt to contest such a district.
We believe that Gozo should be viewed as a region and remain as one district. There is still ample time to re-assess the situation and have the parties agree on what is necessary towards this end.
However for decency’s sake, it is time the Electoral Commissioner and the Commission members accept the fact that both parties in parliament, through their respective leaders, have stated in no uncertain manner that a solution needs to be found in order to have Gozo’s identity preserved. It is also time to realise, for the sake of the respective candidates, that this exercise should only be carried out once every five years and with ample advance notice being given prior to general elections.
In the meantime the surfing goes on.
One of the options in the minority report puts Dingli, Rabat, Mtarfa, Mgarr, Mellieha and Ghajnsielem together to form the new 12th district. Another possible scenario puts Rabat, Siggiewi, Mqabba, Kirkop and Qrendi in the same district.
In the meantime, pending finalisation of the new electoral boundaries, is each member of Parliament, seriously considering contesting the next election for Rabat, expected to cover half the island? The options for the district incorporating Rabat vary from Qrendi to the south-west to Ghajnsielem that is further north than Malta – seeing that it is part of our sister island of Gozo.
Who knows what pleasures are still to come in this respect!
Tony Abela is Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister