Alternattiva Demokratika said today that it is proposing changes to the electoral system which include the introduction of a national threshold so that representation in Parliament would be as proportional as possible to the first count votes cast for the parties.

Arnold Cassola, party chairman, said the system that was being proposed was based more or less on the German system, with a district quota of 16.6% that would allow an individual to be elected on her/his own steam, and a national quota.

The party explained that when the allocation of seats needed to be adjusted to reflect proportionality, the national quota would be 2.5% of first count votes. Candidates could thus be elected either on the basis of the district quota or if the votes given to their party exceeded the national quota.

The party is also proposing that the transfer of votes between parties should not be considered in casual elections, removing the remote possibility of parties winning or losing seats as a result of casual elections.

Carmel Cacopardo, Alternattiva Demokratika spokesman on Sustainable Development and Local Councils, stressed that the main aim of the Alternattiva Demokratika proposals was to bring about the necessary balance between a fair democratic representation of the voters' intentions and functional governability of the country.

The electoral system is one of the subjects currently being discussed by a Parliamentary Select Commitee appointed just before Parliament rose for the summer recess.