Malta

Malta is a unitary republic with a parliamentary form of government. In the Economist Democracy Index 2024, it received an overall score of 7.93/10 ("flawed democracy") and an 9.17/10 rating for electoral processes and pluralism. The country is a member of the European Union.

The head of state is the president, but executive power rests in the cabinet headed by the prime minister.

The minimum age for both active suffrage (the right to vote) is 16 years, and for passive suffrage (standing for election) is 18 years. Voting is not compulsory, neither in-person voting at diplomatic missions abroad is possible, nor postal voting, online voting, or proxy voting are possible. Voting is is possible on one day (Saturday), but early voting is also an option.

House of representatives

The unicameral Maltese parliament (House of Representatives) is directly elected for 5-year terms under a modified single transferable vote (STV) system. The country is divided into 13 five-seat constituencies.

Proportional representation is ensured within constituencies through the single transferable vote system. Each voter can rank candidates individually. The Droop quota is used to elect candidates in the first round and to determine the surplus votes, which favours the larger party in each constituency. However, nationally the larger party does not always win the most seats, therefore a national correction mechanism (a sort of top-up) is used to avoid such cases.

In addition, the system also includes a correction mechanism to ensure that gender representation in parliament is more balanced.

European Parliament

MEPs from Malta are elected every 5 years (at the same time as in the other EU member states). The entire country forms one constituency, in which 6 MEPs were elected in 2024. Due to "degressive proportionality", Maltese voters have significantly more representatives per capita than the EU average.

The main principle in the election of the Parliament (within the countries) is proportionality: by default, only a proportional system can be used, but beyond this, the member states decide for themselves what type. Malta, like in its parliamentary elections, uses the single transferable vote system, so there are no party lists and each voter can rank the candidates individually.

The minimum age for both active suffrage (the right to vote) is 16 years, and for passive suffrage (standing for election) is 18 years. Voting is not compulsory, neither in-person voting at diplomatic missions abroad is possible, nor postal voting, online voting, or proxy voting are possible. Voting is is possible on one day (Saturday).

Notes

This is the description of the electoral system of Malta as of 08.06.2026 on Electoral Knowledgebase. Sources and further information on this topic:

2024 European Parliament elections: National rules (European Parliament)

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