Each and every election leaves all small parties in the same situation as the previous one.

Each time they hope that they have made some inroads, but each time they end up in the same place.

They obtain too few votes, not enough to get a seat in Parliament, and are left in limbo.

Our electoral system does not help them. That they need one quota in a district to get a candidate elected is a difficult task.

The two bigger parties do not make it easier for them either. Both the Labour Party and Nationalist Party seek to preserve the status quo because it is comfortable for them, and they leave little room in which the smaller parties can manoeuvre. The PL and PN get the lion’s share on national TV in the weeks leading up to the election, and legislation they enact is often a way how to solidify their grasp. The latest gender-corrective mechanism only works if two parties make it to Parliament, just to give one example. Both also own their own media, and the small parties cannot compete with this.

The electoral law is now being challenged before the constitutional court by ADPD. The party’s argument is that, with more than 4,700 votes obtained, it believes it has the right to a seat in the House of Representatives. This is because the number is more than the average quota that was needed by each elected candidate. A ruling in their favour will upset the whole electoral system. But that remains to be seen.

Until then, the small parties would do well to analyse why they do not pick up more votes. Their best chance came at the election held last month – the party in government was coming from nine years of corruption allegations, while the party in opposition was coming from nine years of internal turmoil. Small parties believed that it was the opportune moment for them to be given an opportunity.

But the small parties did not do well. Instead of voting for small parties, many chose not to vote at all. We had the lowest voter-turnout since Independence. More than 50,000 voters chose not to exercise their right to vote. Imagine if these had chosen ADPD or one of the other smaller parties.

It was not to be. Only two to three per cent of the voting population think that small parties are worth a try. It is more or less the same result that has been obtained in past elections, which means that small parties are not gaining ground. If anything, given the lower turnout, they are deemed less credible than they were in the past.

One has to admire their resilience and tenacity, even because sometimes they are the voice of reason.

Is there a future for them? Will small parties manage to become stronger, or will they continue to just exist?

It is hard to imagine that the situation will change in five years’ time. Breaking the duopoly that has existed since Independence – with the Wenzu Mintoff, Marlene Farrugia and Godfrey Farrugia exceptions, in different eras and different circumstances – at present seems to be impossible.