Up to 40% of MPs in next Parliament will be women

Up to 40% of MPs in the next legislature will be women, the government said in a statement.

In a statement, the Equality Ministry said there was agreement, in the Committee for the Advancement of Democratic Representation, on the way forward on this matter. The committee includes members of the Opposition as well as Constitutional law experts.

The government said it will move to approve the draft bill in Cabinet and then take it up before Parliament.

This will mean that the government will have kept its promise of introducing the system in time for the 2022 general election. This is a clear example of a government that listens and acts, the ministry said.

Equality Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said that this is a “revolutionary” initiative in Maltese democracy and ensures a healthy representation and a united country. This is one of a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening the country’s institutions, Zammit Lewis said.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Reforms, Rosianne Cutajar, said the government is moving from talk to facts. Through this reform, almost 40% of MPs in the next Parliament will be women, she said.

In a statement on Thursday, the Nationalist Party said that its Executive Committee had discussed the technical proposals its representatives had presented to the consultative committee.

The PN said it has always taken part in a constructive debate on this subject. It had nominated Graziella Attard Previ and Alessia Psaila Zammit as its representatives on the committee, and Tonio Borg as a Constitutional consultant.

Since women are less likely to be elected, the proposal is for both sides of the House to be able to add six women MPs.

The PN said it agrees with a mechanism to increase female representation in Parliament.

It said that, apart from such mechanisms, there needs to be a strengthening of the culture in favour of equality and increased female participation in all sectors, including Parliament.

While there are a number of technical points which need to be clarified, the PN’s Executive Committee believes that the discussion has matured enough to be taken to a Parliamentary level.