Malta is way too small to be further subdivided into many small districts. It only leads to unnecessary granularity and harmful distortions in the functioning of the democratic exercise. Gerrymandering of district boundaries has lead to abuses in the past, and the dilution of votes means that good and nationally-popular candidates do not get elected even if they have good ideas and integrity. So let us elect people FOR the whole county BY the whole country. ONE Country = ONE district!
The only possible exceptions is Gozo, but only if it has it's own local government.
I support this idea because a) all elected candidates have to work in the best interest of ALL the country and b) living in a locality but having most people who can vote for you living in different districts automatically eliminates them for voting for you.
I would go for 4 regions (including Local Councils) plus Gozo
It will stop positive discrimination by Ministers in favour of their constituents
Can you imagine a ballot paper with 200 candidates to choose from?
As mentioned in a previous comment, a good compromise could be having 4 districts instead of 13. This will mean a manageable number of candidates on each ballot, but at the same time, giving chance to small parties.
200 candidates would fit comfortably on a single A4 double-sided sheet of ballot paper, with two columns per page and font size 12. Moreover, with the advent of electronic counting and soon after electronic voting, any issue of having 200 candidates on a single sheet of ballot paper goes away. So I don't think this should get in the way of democracy.
One would first choose the party one would like to see elected and then choose a given number of candidates from the list. This would help the electorate choose the best candidates. Besides, the parties will not need to have so many candidates most of whom stand no chance to be elected. Also, the number in parliament could be less than it is now making the system less expensive and parliament more managable. Those elected would need to work for the good of all not just their constituents.
To make it more manageable, another option could be to have two rounds like what is done in so many countries. A regional primary elimination round will reduce the numbers to say 100, followed by a national final round to elect 30 people that actually deserve to govern and 30 more that are needed to form the opposition.
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