The Chamber of Commerce is proposing an electoral reform that will see the number of MPs reduced from 79 to 45, the decrease in the number of electoral districts, and better remuneration for MPs and position holders such as Ministers and the Prime Minister himself.

In a press conference on Thursday, the Malta Chamber of Commerce presented two documents to members of the press; one catering to reforms to the electoral system, and the other suggesting an overhaul to the working conditions of elected politicians.

Malta Chamber of Commerce President Chris Vassallo Cesareo said that Malta is at a “critical moment”, with more and more voters feeling disconnected to the political system.

“For decades, Malta’s political system has been a source of pride with consistently high voter engagement and a deep connection between citizens and their elected representatives,” he said.

“Yet in recent years we have seen signs of strain – a decline in voter participation, a growing sense of disconnected and a crisis of trust in our institutions.  This is a critical moment,” he continued.

“If we are to restore faith in our democracy we must demonstrate a renewed commitment to these principles of integrity, transparency and accountability and that commitment must translate into action that modernises our governance framework, addresses systematic need for reform and rebuilds trust in our political system,” he added.

Vassallo Cesareo said that by embracing the Chamber’s recommendations, Malta “can send a clear signal to its citizens and the global community that we are committed to fostering a political culture grounded in accountability transparency and trust.”

Chief among the reforms is a radical downsizing of Malta's Parliament: the Chamber believes that it should be limited to 45 MPs who are elected from five electoral districts.

Malta currently elects 65 MPs from 13 districts, but the complement increases when taking into account constitutional proportionality mechanisms and the gender representation mechanism.

Malta in fact currently has 79 MPs - meaning that the country has far and away the largest number of parliamentarians per capita in the European Union.

Some believe that this offers the country a better talent pool for leading Malta forward and keeps the political class close to the people, but critics believe that it is an exaggerated number and that it can also increase the possibility of clientelism.

The document also proposes the establishment of a national threshold - set at 5% of the national vote - which would see smaller parties guaranteed representation in Parliament.

The Chamber also recommended that Malta moves to a parliamentary system where the MPs are full-time.

“The country cannot be led part-time,” the Chamber’s Head of Policy Kevin Mizzi told journalists as he explained the recommendations.

Coupled with that is a suggestion for a significant increase to the salaries for politicians.  The salary of an MP, the Chamber proposed, should be pegged to the grade of a Director-General – which in 2024, prior to the last collective agreement, stood at €42,582 per year.

MPs are currently offered an honoraria of around €23,000 per year.

Meanwhile the pay structure of the Prime Minister, Ministers, the Leader of the Opposition, and Parliamentary Secretaries should be pegged to a percentage of the average of the median quartile of CEOs in the private sector.

Under the Chamber’s proposals, this would work out to the Prime Minister being paid €113,900 per year; Ministers and the Opposition Leader being paid €94,917 per year; and Parliamentary Secretaries being paid €82,262 per year.

When it comes to focus on promoting female politicians, the Chamber said that it does not agree with the current gender representation mechanism and recommended its removal.  Instead, the Chamber said that the ballot list of each party should be adjusted: rather than candidates being sorted in alphabetical order, female candidates should be listed first in a random order followed by male candidates in a random order as well.

The randomisation of the order of how candidates are presented is to reduce the possibility of ‘donkey voting’ – where a voter gives their preference from top to bottom – having an impact on who is elected.

The policy also suggests offering a route for the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader to appoint technocrats to their Cabinet or their Shadow Cabinet.

There would be a cap of one unelected technical minister or shadow minister per six elected MPs, with their term capped at three years before they must be subject to re-approval.  Their selection would be based on “clear and transparent rules rather than the debasement of the electoral system.”

Such a technical person would not increase the size of Parliament, under the Chamber’s proposal.  Indeed, they would replace an MP – the MP with the lowest number of votes obtained in the election – meaning that Parliament’s complement would remain at 45.

The Chamber also recommended that the practice of co-opting individuals who were not candidates in the election to Parliament should be discontinued.  Instead there should be a “clear and transparent process” that should ensure that the replacement “maintains a fair reflection of the electorate’s choice.”

If it’s a new Opposition Leader or Prime Minister who needs to enter Parliament, then it is the candidate on either side which polled the lowest number of votes in the election who must make way.

Asked by The Malta Independent about whether they feel that any of the recommendations will be implemented, given that they require cross-party agreement, Malta Chamber CEO Marthese Portelli said that “hope is the last to die” and that when there is a point of principle or belief that the Chamber holds it will keep on discussing it and bringing it to the fore until it is implemented.