I simply cannot understand the “mathematical” logic behind the decision of the constitutional court when handing down its sentence on the two extra parliamentary seats given to the PN.

The court itself said that: “The principle of proportionality must be reflected in the first preference votes cast by the electorate and the number of seats that are ultimately allocated to the parties respectively.”

The following are the mathematical calculations which show, in the clearest possible way, that the PL’s majority of seats in parliament had to be nine seats.

The PL received 167,533 first count votes. The PN got 132,426 votes. The average quota of the 13 electoral districts, which is used to determine the ultimate number of seats which each party should have in strict proportionality with the first preference votes obtained, was 3,918. Dividing the PL’s 167,533 votes with 3,918 gives the PL 42.759 votes. Dividing the PN’s 132,426 votes by 3,918 gives the PN 33.799 votes. Subtracting 33.799 seats from 42.759 gives the PL 8.96 seats – or nine seats – majority.

This is precisely what the electoral commission had done when it gave the PN four extra seats, so that the PL’s majority of seats, which at the end of the vote-counting was 13 seats, became nine seats – thus keeping strict proportionality between the first preference votes obtained by both parties and the parliamentary seats allocated to them!

Funnily enough, Simon Busuttil immediately called for a “rally to celebrate this victory”. Doesn’t it remind PN voters of when Alfred Sant had also called a rally to ‘celebrate’  because “partnership had won”?