Hermann Schiavone was recently awarded a PhD in political science from the University of Manchester.
His thesis, entitled ‘The Single Transferable Vote (STV) system and its consequences for representation – The case of Malta’, examined three consequences of the Maltese electoral system, namely: the candidates getting elected; why Maltese women are failing to get elected in sufficient numbers; and how MPs’ behaviour is affected by the electoral system.
As part of his research, Dr Schiavone conducted interviews and also carried out a survey among Maltese MPs. The survey results were compared with those of Irish MPs who have also participated in an identical survey.
During his period of research, Dr Schiavone was invited by the Constitution of the Irish Parliament’s joint committee to deliver a presentation about the application of the STV in Malta to Irish senators and members of Parliament.