The Nationalist Party has said that the Labour Party’s proposed revision of electoral districts will weaken residents’ voices rather than strengthening them as it will split multiple localities.

The party said in a statement that it will vote against the PL’s proposal, instead voting for its own proposal which it says will keep localities intact within each district.

“The changes to the electoral districts proposed by the members of the Electoral Commission nominated by the Labour Party, in the report tabled yesterday in Parliament, divide a number of localities in a way that weakens the voice of residents rather than strengthens it,” the PN said on Wednesday morning.

Among these is Birkirkara, which, under the Government’s proposal, would be split in two. Instead of continuing to form the heart of the Eighth District, it would now be divided between the Eighth and the First Electoral District, the PN noted.

At the same time, Tal-Pietà would be moved from the First District to the Ninth District, while part of Naxxar would join the Eighth District, and Marsascala would be split so that part of it would move from the Third District to the Second. These would be added to Fgura, which is already divided.

“This is unacceptable, and the members of the Electoral Commission nominated by the PN have submitted a Minority Report with their own proposals on how this revision should be carried out,” the PN said.

The revision is being conducted because, according to the Constitution, the population size of each district cannot vary by more than 5% between them

The Minority Report is based on the principle that localities should not be divided and should remain, as much as possible, within a single district to ensure the voice of each locality and its residents is strengthened, not diluted across multiple districts.

Indeed, efforts were made in this report to avoid splitting any town or village in Malta, as far as possible. The only exception was Madliena, which, being a hamlet, was proposed to be shifted on its own to a different district, the PN noted.

“This stands in stark contrast to what the Labour Party is doing, which seeks to weaken these localities,” the party added.

For this reason, the PN said that it will vote in Parliament against the report presented by the Electoral Commission and in favour of the Minority Report that keeps localities intact within the same districts – “because that is the only way to truly strengthen the voice of residents in their respective localities.”

PL statement

The Labour Party, in a statement, referred to the main report of the Electoral Commission on the changing boundaries of electoral districts which was tabled in Parliament.

The Labour Party said that it agrees with the revisions made as proposed in the main report of the Electoral Commission.

"The changes proposed in the main report of the Electoral Commission were made in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, i.e. the changes respect elements of geographical proximity and variation in population density, as compared to the common quota for each district. Thus, the number of electors between the first and twelfth districts would reflect the electoral quota."

"With the changes proposed in the main report of the Electoral Commission, the proposed changes from the first to the twelfth districts will affect about 21,000 voters. This amount contrasts with the changes proposed in the minority report, namely from the members of the Nationalist Party in the Electoral Commission, as the number of voters affected is around 186,000 people," the PL said.

"These figures dispel the criticism being made by the Nationalist Party, which is now saying that it will not vote in favour of these proposed changes, because according to it they will 'weaken' the localities. The Nationalist Party is also contradicting what it did 4 years ago, when the key proposals were based on the same principles and eventually voted with the Government and against the minority report."

"It seems that the Nationalist Party is clinging to every issue to turn it into a partisan one in the hope of trying to score some cheap political points. This is yet another confirmation of how the PN puts its own interests before that of the people," the PL said.