Parliament on Tuesday continued the debate on the Electoral Commission's proposals to revise Malta's electoral district boundaries, with the first debate on the matter having taken place on Monday.

Nationalist Party MP Ivan Castillo said that the proposed changes indicate a considerable disruption in communities with regard to the district setup, as he remarked that there are localities which seem to have been cut off almost exactly in the middle.

Castillo commented that there are situations where districts leaning towards the PN were diluted. He continued that one could say that it would be considerably more difficult for the PN to gain another seat where its voters increased.

He said that he believes that when it comes to setting up electoral districts, the vote should not be a simple majority, but rather that it should require a 2/3rds agreement in order to give the impression that the parliament is doing things in the interest of the country. "This would convey the message that things were not done with bad intentions, but were rather done for the good of the Maltese and Gozitan people," he said.

Labour Party MP Romilda Zarb stated that the report brought forward by the Electoral Commission is intended to ensure that each vote in the country is worth the same. She remarked that the PL wants to maintain the public's faith in the electoral system, and added that no one's vote should be worth less according to where they reside.

Zarb said that the proposed changes adhere to the law and to the principles of justice and proportional representation, and that "no one should be allowed to fall behind". She added that Malta deserves a system which adheres to the interest of the citizen, and remarked that this report guarantees that.

PN MP Albert Buttigieg said that it does not make sense for certain districts to be separated. He commented that it felt as if the change in districts was being done with the intention of weakening the 8th, 9th, and 10th districts in particular, which he said are traditionally majority PN leaning, while he continued that on the other hand, districts which predominantly lean towards the PL are strengthened by the changes.

Buttigieg remarked that it would be much better if the parliament were talking about how Malta's electoral laws could be improved, as he continued that there are citizens who are refusing to take part in the democratic process, which he said is something which "should concern us all greatly". He said that the number of citizens refusing to participate in the process is increasing, especially among the youth, who he referred to as the future of the country.

Parliamentary Secretary for Public Cleanliness Glenn Bedingfield stated that what is being discussed is a report, not a bill. He continued that it was not a report conducted by the government in secret, but rather a report of the Electoral Commission. "Know what you are talking about," he said, addressing the PN MPs.

PN MP Charles Azzopardi referred to the speech of fellow PN MP Beppe Fenech Adami on Monday, which Azzopardi described as "excellent and precise", as he warned of avoiding a similar situation as what occurred during the 1980s. Fenech Adami on Monday spoke of deliberate manipulation of district boundaries, otherwise known as gerrymandering, which he said led to "perverse" election results in 1981 and 1987 when the PL had lost the majority support from the people.

PN MP Justin Schembri spoke of how the Constitution of Malta must always be respected by both political parties representing the people. He commented that faith needs to be instilled in politicians by showing that politicians are close to the people. He said that both parties talk about the importance of politics going from the bottom-up, yet the changes proposed in the electoral districts will be reducing direct contact between politicians and the people, particularly referring to changes in Birkirkara as an example.

Schembri said that if the government truly believes that the Constitution belongs to the country and protects the citizens, then there should be wider communication as well as an effort to find agreement in an important report such as this. "We must be loyal towards the Constitution and the obligations of the Constitution," he stated.