The Democratic Party has called for the resignation of both the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The killing of Ms Caruana Galizia has weakened democracy, attacked freedom of speech and threatened the fourth estate, the party said in a statement.

PD said it considered the elimination of the journalist as a political assassination because the political climate paved the way for poor governance, corruption, the dismantling of institutions, a cultural of impunity and of rewarding those that do wrong. Joseph Muscat carries the political responsibility for all this. 

The party said the murder took place when Ms Caruana Galizia had seen her popularity rating drop because of a campaign of "character assassination" steered by the two political leaders.

It also called for the resignation of the Police Commissioner and the Attorney General and that new chairpersons and ambassadors truly reflect the common good.

"The convention for constitutional reforms should take place as soon as possible. The country deserves better. People need to wake up."

PD has two elected parliamentary members, after they contested on the same ticket as the Nationalist Party in the June general election.