Labour MP Evarist Bartolo has come out in favour of Alternattiva Demokratika's call for constitutional amendments that include a national threshold for better representation in parliament.

AD won 5,500 votes in Saturday's election but will not be represented in parliament because the Maltese system elects MPs on the basis of their performance in each district. However when only two political parties are elected to parliament, the number of their seats is adjusted to reflected the proportion of their votes.

AD has for 20 years been calling for a national threshold, where a party would be represented in parliament is it achieves a certain number of votes nationally. The issue was discussed by a parliamentary select committee in the late 1980s but no agreement was reached.

In a facebook comment, Mr Bartolo said: "We have to work to ensure that the 5,500 who voted for Alternattiva Demokratika are respected as much as the other people who have a vote and use it to have a voice in parliament.

"These 5,500 people pay tax like us and the basic principle of representative democracy in 'No taxation without representation.'

"A party which has the support of 5,500 people deserves to be represented in Parliament. Democratic institutions which are not open to a diversity of citizens will deteriorate and lose the confidence of the people.

"It is therefore in the interests of democratic society itself to safeguard the rights of its various groups, large or small, within it.

AD STATEMENT

In a reaction, Michael Briguglio, AD chairman, said: "I thank Evarist Bartolo for his statement that a party with 5,500 voters deserves parliamentaryrepresentation. Alternattiva Demokratika's vote represents far more than a parliamentary quota. We have always striven to represent a portion of the population that entrusts us with its vote. AD is prepared to carry that responsibility and show that it can be entrusted with the democratic representation of its constituents".