This article lists political parties in Malta. Since World War II, Maltese political culture has developed into a two-party system dominated by the centre-left Labour Party (Maltese: Partit Laburista) and the centre-right Nationalist Party (Maltese: Partit Nazzjonalista). Although other political parties have presented candidates and, in some cases, elected MPs, in most cases these were splinter groups of the main parties and, on the rare occasions when they were successful, this success was short-lived.
In the case of Local Councils however, independent candidates and village-dedicated parties have better chances of being elected. For example, Għarb l-Ewwel (en: Għarb First) is the only party of this kind to hold representation in a Local Council. There is a total of two elected independent councillors around Malta and Gozo, activist Steve Zammit Lupi in Ħaż-Żebbuġ (Malta)[1] and Nicky Saliba in Żebbuġ (Gozo). For Żebbuġ, Gozo, former PN Mayor Nicky Saliba ran in 2019 as an independent candidate and was elected, causing a deadlock for the mayorship in the 5-seat Żebbuġ council. He was re-elected mayor[2] all the same and remains in this post to this day.
Until 2015, there was no law in Malta requiring the registration and regulation of political parties; the General Elections Act made the necessary provisions for party participation in elections but no official list was maintained between elections. The Financing of Political Parties Act, which passed in 2015 and came into effect on 1 January 2016, introduced the requirement for political parties to register themselves with the Electoral Commission and declare all donations in order to be able to field candidates in general elections and European Parliament elections.[3] The Labour Party was the first party to attempt to register, on 3 June 2016,[4] however its statute was not compliant,[5] therefore making Moviment Patrijotti Maltin the first party to be officially registered, on 24 November 2016. The Labour Party was finally registered on 22 April 2017.[6]
Registered Parties edit
National parties represented in the Maltese Parliament, the European Parliament, Local Councils and hamlet Administrative Committees edit
| Name | Founded | Ideology | Political position | Leader | House of Representatives | MEPs | Local Councillors | Europarty | EP group | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| in Government | |||||||||||
| Labour Party (PL) | 1920 | Social democracy | Centre-left | Robert Abela | 44 / 79 | 4 / 6 | 267 / 462 | PES | S&D | ||
| Independents[a] | Various or N/A | 1 / 79 | N/A | ||||||||
| in Opposition | |||||||||||
.svg) | Nationalist Party (PN) | 1926 | Christian democracy | Centre-right | Bernard Grech | 35 / 79 | 2 / 6 | 190 / 462 | EPP | EPP | |
Local parties represented in Local Councils edit
| Name | Founded | Ideology | Political position | Leader | Local Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Għarb First (GĦ1)[8] Għarb l-Ewwel | 2019 | Għarb localism[9] Parish-Council collaboration | — | David Apap[b] | Għarb Local Council: 2 / 5 | |
| Independents[1][2] | N/A | Various or N/A | 3 / 462 | ||||
Unrepresented national parties edit
| Name | Founded | Ideology | Position | Leader | Europarty | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABBA[10] | 2021 | Christian right | Far-right | Ivan Grech Mintoff | ECPM | ||
 | AD+PD | 2020 | Green politics | Centre-left | Sandra Gauci | EGP | |
 | Imperium Europa (IE) | 2000 | Neo-fascism | Far-right | Norman Lowell | — | |
 | People's Party (PP) Partit Popolari | 2020 | Right-wing populism | Right-wing | Paul Salomone | — | |
 | Volt Malta (VM) | 2021 | Social liberalism | Centre | Alexia DeBono Arnas Lasys | Volt Europa | |
Unrepresented local parties edit
| Name | Founded | Village/Town | Leader | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floriana First (FL)[10] Floriana l-Ewwel | 2019 |  Floriana | Nigel Holland | ||
| Residents of Valletta (RB) Residents of Valletta | 2021 |  Valletta | Billy McBee | ||
Inactive, registered political parties edit
| Name | Ideology | Position | Leader | Europarty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maltese Patriots Movement Moviment Patrijotti Maltin (MPM) | Euroscepticism | Far-right | Henry Battistino | — | |
| Communist Party of Malta Partit Komunista ta' Malta (PKM) | Marxism–Leninism | Far-left | Victor Degiovanni | Initiative | |
| Alleanza Bidla Alliance for Change (AB)[c] | Social conservatism | Right-wing | Ivan Grech Mintoff | ECPM | |
Defunct parties edit
- Alleanza Nazzjonali Repubblikana
- Alliance of Liberal Democrats Malta
- Alpha Liberal Democratic Party
- Anti-Reform Party
- Christian Workers' Party (active during 1960's Church/PL conflict)
- Constitutional Party
- Democratic Alternative
- Democratic Action Party
- Democratic Nationalist Party (1921–26)
- Democratic Nationalist Party (1959–66)
- Democratic Party (1987)
- Democratic Party (2016-20)
- Eagle Party (Partit tal-Ajkla)[11]
- Gozo Party
- Jones Party
- Independent Labour Party
- Integrity Party
- Libertas Malta
- Malta Workers Party
- Maltese Political Union
- National Action
- Progressive Constitutionalist Party
- Brain, not ego[12]
Diagram edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Galea, Albert (30 May 2019). "Watch: Steve Zammit Lupi elected to Żebbuġ council as independent candidate". Malta Independent. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ a b Bonnici, Julian (2019-05-31). "Former PN Mayor Elected As Independent In Deadlocked Żebbuġ - PL Keeps Hold of Gżira". Lovin Malta. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
- ^ "Party Financing Law will come into effect in January 2016". TVM News. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- ^ "Party financing: PL registers itself with Electoral Commission". Times of Malta. Allied Newspapers. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- ^ "Labour's statute not in line with new party financing law". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
- ^ "Labour finally registered as political party". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
- ^ "Rosianne Cutajar resigns from Labour's parliamentary group". Times of Malta. Allied Newspapers Ltd. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "'Għarb First' – Former Councillor Comes Back To Haunt PN; Sliema Is Set To Retain Its PN Majority". Lovin Malta. 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ GĦARB L-EWWEL – STATUT https://electoral.gov.mt/Media/Default/Documents/PartyStatutes/G%C4%A7arb_L-Ewwel.pdf
- ^ a b Sansone, Kurt. "From Floriana l-Ewwel to ABBA, Malta has 12 registered political parties". MaltaToday. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ "Election Summary 2013". Electoral Commission Malta. Electoral Commission of Malta. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
- ^ "New independent political party for EP elections: 'Brain, not ego'". www.independent.com.mt. Retrieved 2021-11-19.