Lovin Malta has withdrawn its application to register as a political party but has launched a crowdfunding appeal to raise funds for a nationwide “campaign for change”, following the public’s response to the website’s April Fool stunt.

The Electoral Commission said last week that it was considering the application.

“We withdrew our application because we did not want to waste the Electoral Commission’s time during the run up to an election, when it is already busy investigating the donation practices of both major political parties. After all, we have no intention of contesting the election," Lovin Malta said.

"We only applied to become a political party to make our April Fool stunt more credible - and it worked. But we were so overwhelmed by the public’s response to our 52-point manifesto, that we decided to try take this a step further anyway, and that’s where the crowdfunding comes in,”  Lovin Malta said.

“We are looking to raise at least €2,000 to launch a nationwide campaign that promotes our key ideas. Depending on how much we raise, we could do anything from setting up our most popular billboard to creating our first re-greening project. This is the time for people to put their money where their mouths are. If they really want to change the political system, they should support initiatives that have the potential to bring about the change they wish to see.”

Lovin Malta wants to 'restructure' democracy for the digital age, legalise marijuana, put all government transactions and contracts online and promote the increase of ODZ land through the re-greening of built areas, as well as promoting a raft of national clean up initiatives.