2013 Maltese general election

2013 election in Malta July 2016 July 2026 Malta parliamentary 2008 Maltese general election 2008 List of members of the parliament of Malta, 2008–2013 List of members of the parliament of Malta, 2013–2017 2017 Maltese general election 2017 All seats in the House of Representatives 9 March 2013 93.8% 0.5pp Joseph Muscat, Leader, Partit Laburista, Malta (cropped).jpg Joseph Muscat Labour Party (Malta) 34 seats, 48.79% 39 5 167,533 54.83% 6.04pp Lawrence Gonzi 2009.jpg Lawrence Gonzi Nationalist Party (Malta) 35 seats, 49.34% 30 5 132,426 43.34% 6.00pp Malta general election 2013.png Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi Nationalist Party (Malta) Joseph Muscat Labour Party (Malta) General elections were held in Malta on 9 March 2013 to elect all members of the House of Representatives. The Labour Party, led by Joseph Muscat, defeated the governing Nationalist Party, which had been in power since 1998, returning Labour to power after 15 years in opposition. The Nationalists suffered a 6% swing away from them in the popular vote, reaching a 51-year low of 43%. Labour achieved 55%, a 58-year high and a nine-seat majority in parliament, with Joseph Muscat becoming prime minister. Background In the previous elections in 2008, Lawrence Gonzi's Nationalist Party was re-elected for a third term in government, this time with a narrow one-seat majority in parliament. On 10 December 2012 Lawrence Gonzi's government was defeated in a vote on the 2013 Financial EstimatesBudget rejected as Debono votes with Opposition http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20121210/local/budget-rejected-as-franco-debono-votes-no-with-the-opposition.449064 Times of Malta 10 December 2012Malta government falls after PM Gonzi loses majority when ruling party MP Franco Debono voted against the government's budget proposal in protest over transportation reform in giving a German operator the contract to manage the national bus service. Faced with loss of supply, Gonzi announced that the House of Representatives would be dissolved on 7 January and a general election called for 9 March.Parliament to be dissolved on 7 January, election on March 9 http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20121210/local/gonzi-proud-of-what-the-government-achieved.449068 Times of Malta 10 December 2012 Electoral system The system of voting used was, as in previous elections, proportional representation through modified single transferable vote with five MPs to be returned from each of thirteen districts, i.e. 65 constituency seats in total, with a variable number of at-large seats added to ensure that the overall first-preference votes are reflected in the composition of the House of Representatives. There were also some minor changes to the boundaries of electoral districts from the previous general election and improved voting arrangements for hospital patients.http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/99426 OSCE/ODIHR NEEDS ASSESSMENT MISSION REPORT January 2013 OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights 16 March 2013 Parties The two leading political parties contesting the election were the Nationalist Party of the incumbent prime minister,mt Partit Nazzjonalista https://web.archive.org/web/19980113155128/http://www.pn.org.mt/ 13 January 1998 Lawrence Gonzi and the Labour Party, led by Joseph Muscat,Partit Laburista for whom this was the first general election at the helm of the party. The Third party was Democratic Alternative, a Green Party, which was seeking to elect its first MP.http://www.alternattiva.org/ Alternattiva Demokratika 9 March 2013 4 May 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130504122328/http://www.alternattiva.org/ dead A small number of independent candidates also ran for election. National Action, which stood candidates in the 2008 general election and 2009 European Parliamentary election, ceased activities in 2010 and did not contest this election. Opinion polls Date(s) Released Polling institute NationalistLabour DemocraticAlternative Undecided/No answerLead7 January 2012The Sunday Times25.2%(46.9%)¤29.5%(52.1%)¤1.0%(1.0%)¤44.3% 4%8 July 2012Misco International22%32%1%45% 10%14 October 2012Misco International22%34%1%43% 12%13 January 2013The Sunday Times27%(44%)¤33%(54%)¤1%(1%)¤38% 6%3 March 2013Malta Today28.2%40.2%2.4%29.2% 12% ¤ Opinion polls adjusted for the preference of undecided voters. Results thumb|Labourites celebrate at Castille Square after the election. Following the announcement of the preliminary result, in which Labour had 39 seats to 26 for the Nationalists, Labour party leader Joseph Muscat said from Naxxar: "I wasn't expecting such a landslide victory for Labour. We must all remain calm, tomorrow is another day." Nationalist party leader Lawrence Gonzi conceded the election in saying "The Nationalist Party needs to begin a reform process and at the same remain rooted in its values."Labour returns to power in Malta after 15 years This was the first time the Labour party won a majority in the government since Malta joined the European Union,Malta’s May Elect Labour Party for First Time Since Euro Start as well as being the first Labour government since the new millennium (as the previous one should have ended in 2001, but ended prematurely in 1998). Furthermore, the Labour party won absolute majority of the votes in 23 of the 35 localities, increasing its overall share of the votes by 2.2% from the last elections.http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/elections2013/Local-elections-vote-count-underway-20130316 Labour Increases Vote by 2% 16 March 2013 Malta Today 16 March 2013 The Nationalist Party was subsequently awarded four at-large seats, bringing it to 30 in all, to adjust for its share of the first-preference vote. File:Malte Parlement 2013.svg Labour Party 167533 39 +5 Nationalist Party 132426 30 –5 Democratic Alternative 5506 0 0 Ajkla Party 47 0 New Liberal Alliance 12 0 New Independents 32 0 0 4044 0 330072 Government of Malta, Parliament of Malta References 30em External links Electoral Commission Malta Category:General elections in Malta General election Category:March 2013 in Europe