One of the distinctive features in Maltese general elections is the large number of candidates the two main parties field. On average, the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party nominate four candidates for every seat available. Over-nomination has been persistent in Maltese elections since the introduction of the single transferable vote system in 1921. The introduction of a dual purpose vote in 1987 intensified this trend and parties are now bound to nominate whoever could win them a few extra first preferences. This has serious consequences on the party system.
In the run-up to the elections, and as the election fever starts mounting, new candidates mushroom in every corner and others who were not on the good books of a party still manage to make it to the ballot. In short, although parties seem to be genuinely interested in recruiting the right candidates, they are not always succeeding as electoral considera- tions are taking precedence over every other matter during the recruitment process.
Joseph Muscat has already hinted that in the next election his party will be nominating a number of “super candidates”. The Leader of Opposition has yet to define his term of super candidates but it is reasonable to assume he was referring to individuals who are vote pullers. I cannot find fault in such reasoning.
Unfortunately, our electoral system is tying the parties’ hands when recruiting their candidates. Their hands are also tied in matters of internal discipline. Sitting MPs, for instance, are guaranteed a place on their respective party’s ballot in the following election irrespective of their behaviour during the preceding legislature. The two parties just cannot afford to stop any MP from being included in their list, especially in a system where a few fewer first preferences may lose them the election.
Parties seem to be losing their hold on MPs and, in some instances, appear to be impotent. If a party is uneasy with a particular MP it can only hope its voters do their job by not electing him/her at the next available opportunity. It should not be like this. Parties should recruit candidates on the basis of one’s integrity, loyalty and ability to represent the people adequately. In order to do so, our electoral system needs to be reformed once again.
Most of us acknowledge that the election of candidates is secondary to the parties. Maltese voters are aware that their first preference vote adds to their party’s national vote tally and that is why parties are fielding anyone who could win them a few extra first preferences. This, however, may be instigating the parties to relax vigilance in their recruitment. If we remove this causal effect of the system, the parties could operate better. They would be in a position to scrutinise aspirant candidates without the fear of losing votes. How could this be done?
The solution is not complicated. In a general election, voters would be handed two ballot papers, one indicating a list of parties and the other the same as the present ballot, listing the candidates. Voters will then be asked to mark their preferred party on one ballot and rank the order for their preferred candidates in the other. The party that wins the majority of votes in the first ballot would win the right to govern. The allocation of seats in districts would be decided according to the proportion of votes parties win in the particular district. The choice of candidates would be made as before by the electorate according to the preferences in the second ballot.
Such a reform will completely eliminate the risk to over-nominate because the personal vote element would be relegated to the second ballot. Furthermore, with such a reform, parties stand to gain as do voters. Parties will have effective discipline over their MPs and would be in a position to present the electorate with candidates who are of good moral character and who truly deserve to be called representatives of the people.
A sitting MP, for instance, would not be guaranteed a place on the party’s slate in the following election. Voters would also stand to benefit from this. In such a system, nothing keeps the electorate from voting for a particular party and allocate a first preference to a candidate from the opposing party on the second ballot paper.
In essence, we would redefine the concept of representation. MPs and candidates would, in some cases, double and treble their potential voters as the whole district would effectively become fertile ground. The introduction of a two ballot system would certainly be beneficial to parties and people alike as it will facilitate the process of having real super candidates.