Parliament has opened the debate on the Electoral Commission's proposals to revise Malta's electoral district boundaries, as shifting population patterns as well as constitutional obligations over the past years prompt the need for change.

The discussion on Monday sparked contrasting positions from the two main parties: the Labour Party is supporting the majority report drafted by the Commission that would minimise the number of voters reassigned between districts but split more localities, while the Nationalist Party is backing a more radical overhaul of district lines to keep localities intact.

Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon started the debate by giving an account of the country's electoral systems throughout its history.

Falzon said that Malta has adopted the Single Transferrable Vote system, which was given to Malta and Ireland by the British, though the latter did not adopt it itself.

The STV system allows voters to rank individual candidates in order of preference, a system that, according to Falzon, was designed to suit the British Empire's preference for voters choosing individuals rather than parties.

He said that for decades, Malta's electoral law did not even recognise political parties. As Falzon pointed out, it was only in 1984 that the word "party" entered the constitutional framework following a historic agreement to introduce certain amendments.

Despite this, the system remains fundamentally candidate-centred, and voters make a personal choice of candidates, not merely a vote for a party, Falzon said.

Falzon went on to say that Malta has had two major constitutions shaping its electoral system.

The 1964 Independence Constitution allowed for significant district variance, permitting electoral districts to differ in size by up to 15% above or below the national average, he said.

This flexibility led to situations where some districts elected five MPs while others elected six, creating wide leeway and opportunities for manipulation through boundary revisions, Falzon said.

He said that the 1974 Republican Constitution sought to address these issues. It divided Malta into 13 districts (12 in Malta, one in Gozo), each electing five seats, with variance limited to 5% less or more than the average. This stricter proportional framework aimed to ensure fairer representation, Falzon said.

However, Falzon said that proportionality challenges remained, and the 1981 election result, when the Nationalist Party (PN) won a majority of votes but not a majority of seats, was a scenario that triggered political unrest.

The 1987 constitutional amendments established that any party with an absolute majority of votes (50%+1) would be guaranteed a majority of seats through additional seats being awarded if necessary, and that party would govern, Falzon said.

Before the 1996 election, Falzon said that these provisions were extended to ensure that a party with a majority - the highest number of first-preference votes - would also be granted a parliamentary majority, with the aim to avoid a repeat of earlier anomalies.

As Falzon put it, this system continues to work as long as only two parties are represented in parliament. Should a third-party win seats, the original seat-counting rules would again apply.

He said that further amendments before the 2008 election introduced the principle of regionality to protect Gozo's distinct status.

Falzon explained that this ensured Gozo would remain a single district despite its population size exceeding the standard 5% variance.

He said that the reforms aimed for strict proportionality: the ratio of first-count votes between two major parties must be faithfully reflected in the final seat count and in Parliament.

Falzon warned against drastic changes to the electoral districts, as the majority report of the Electoral Commission proposes minimal adjustments, affecting around 21,000 voters.

In contrast, the minority report would shift boundaries impacting over 186,000 voters - more than half the electorate - an upheaval Falzon described as unjustified and risky.

Falzon argued that the majority report stays within constitutional limits, maintaining geographic proximity between localities and respecting the principle of districts comprising adjacent communities.

Falzon said that the minority report's proposed realignment would not only split localities but also disregard constitutional obligations on district integrity.

The 9th and 10th districts "need" additional localities added to it, Falzon said. He said that on the contrary of what is proposed in the minority report, the 3rd district already falls out of the constitution's threshold, standing at 5.5% above the average of voters.

Falzon said that the majority report also has 193 contact points in terms of localities in geographic vicinity to each other, whilst the minority report has 163, 30 contact points less, albeit this not being a constitutional requisite.

Falzon said that the majority report makes much more sense than the minority report, as the latter proposes extraordinary changes. He said that he has no doubt that many PN candidates support the majority report, in order not to be affected negatively.

PN MP Beppe Fenech Adami also recalled the country's electoral history, and focused on the lessons learnt from the 1980s.

He described how deliberate manipulation of district boundaries - gerrymandering - led to "perverse" election results in 1981 and 1987.

Fenech Adami said that in those years, the "perverse" results were because of district configurations engineered to favour one party over another.

He said that in those years, Labour had lost the majority support from the people, and changed the districts in an "incredible manner."

Fenech Adami said that districts were combining distant localities like Floriana and Kirkop, or Valletta and Paola, solely to distort electoral outcomes, according to certain localities which predominantly favoured the Labour party.

He said that today's lawmakers must not repeat the mistakes and abuses of the past, and any change to district boundaries must respect constitutional principles: equal numbers of voters per district as far as practicable, districts made up of neighbouring localities, and no arbitrary combinations for partisan gain.

Fenech Adami agreed that Malta has improved its democratic safeguards, but he warned of a remaining risk: even with current rules, it is still possible - especially if a third party gains parliamentary representation - for a party with fewer votes to secure more seats and form a government. He insisted that this must be avoided at all costs.

He said that the PN's minority report calls for electoral boundaries that are logical and respectful of geographic continuity, ensuring that localities are not arbitrarily split.

"We must have districts that make sense, where localities next to each other are kept together and connected - like how Gozo is not divided," he said.

Citing examples from the Electoral Commission's proposals, the PN criticised the way several localities were split in ways that defy common sense.

"How does it make sense to have Pietà linked with Għargħur? Or to split Birkirkara so that 4,177 voters are taken out of it and placed in a district with Marsa, Floriana, and Valletta?" he asked.

"Birkirkara is a single locality and today it sits entirely in the 8th district. Now someone decided to slice off two-thirds of it and place it into another district," Fenech Adami said.

Fenech Adami also spoke of the splitting of Naxxar, where more than 12,000 voters reside.

"They divided Naxxar in half, sending around 6,000 voters to join Birkirkara - a locality that already lost nearly 5,000 voters. Instead of keeping Birkirkara whole, they split Naxxar to make up the numbers. How can that make sense?" Fenech Adami said.

He said that these changes serve to create a "perverse result" by weakening PN's prospects in key districts.

 "They grabbed 4,000 votes - a large, well-known PL-supporting area of Birkirkara near the old church - and placed it in the 1st district to further weaken the PN in the 8th," he said

Fenech Adami raised similar concerns raised about removing Pietà from Gwardamangia, which was carved out and added to the 9th district, and about part of Naxxar being attached to Sliema and St Julian's.

He appealed for the process to go "back to the drawing board" so that boundaries can be redrawn fairly.

"People need peace of mind that their vote will be reflected in Parliament, and that we will not face a crisis like in the past," he said.

He said that its representatives on the Electoral Commission voted against the proposed changes, as they went "against logic and the principles that should guide the design of electoral districts."

The PN's minority report is proposing a new set of districts that would leave all localities intact, with the exception of Madliena and Swieqi, where Madliena would belong to one district and Swieqi to another.

"We must sit down properly and send this proposal back to the commission because these plans fail to respect the fundamental principles of democracy," he said.

Fenech Adami submitted the minority report in Parliament, as the government had not yet presented it.