General Information
At Stake in this Election:
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All 65* seats in the Maltese Parliament
Government Structure:
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Chief of State: Myriam Spiteri DEBONO (since 4 April 2024)
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Head of Government: Robert ABELA (since 13 January 2020)
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Assembly: unicameral, 65-seat House of Representatives (Il-Kamra Tad-Deputati)*
*Note: the number of seats can increase based on gender and proportional representation requirements and selection of the speaker of the house.
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The President is indirectly elected by the House of Representatives to serve a 5-year term.
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The Prime Minister is appointed by the President and is typically the leader of the majority party or coalition.
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65 members of the House of Representatives are directly elected via a proportional representation system. The number of these seats may increase by 12 if each sex does not attain 40% of the seats. Additionally, seats may be added to parties that receive a majority of the popular vote, but are comparatively under represented in the House. Finally, the Speaker of Parliament does not have to be an elected member of the body. In those cases where a Speaker is not a member, they are automatically given a seat. (See Chapter 6, particularly Articles 52 and 52A of the Constitution of Malta for additional information.)
The last election to the House of Representatives was held on March 26, 2022. The Labour Party won 38 seats and the Nationalist Party won 29 seats. Voter turnout was 86%.
Information for Voters:
Il-Votazzjoni fl-Elezzjoni Ġenerali / Voting in the General Election (in Maltese)
New/Unique in this Election:
This is a snap election called by Prime MInister Robert Abela.
Key Deadlines:
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Candidate filing deadline: 11 May 2026
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Voter registration deadline: 31 March 2026
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Labour Party / Partit Laburista
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Leader: Robert ABELA
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Seats won in the last election: 38 seats out of 67
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Nationalist Party / Partit Nazzjonalista
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Leader: Alex BORG
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Seats won in the last election: 29 seats out of 67
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AD+PD
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Leader: Sandra GAUCI
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Seats won in the last election: 0 seats out of 67
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Popular Party / Aħwa Maltin (AM)
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Leader: Paul SALOMONE
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Seats won in the last election: 0 seats out of 67
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Imperium Europa
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Seats won in the last election: 0 seats out of 67
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Momentum
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Leader: Arnold Cassola
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Seats won in the last election: 0 seats out of 67
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Country Context:
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Population: 568,847 (2024 est.)
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Registered Voters: 355,075 (2022 est.)
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V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index Score: 0.78 (2025)
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V-Dem Regimes of the World Classification: Electoral Democracy (2025)
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Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.924, Very High, Rank 24 (2023)
Gender Data:
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Female Population: 273,622 (2024 est.)
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CEDAW Status: Ascended 8 March 1991
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Gender Quota: Yes, legislated quotas that increase the number of members of parliament by 12 if any sex is represented by less than 40%.
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Female Candidates in this election: Yes
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Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 23 out of 79 (29.1%) in Parliament
Disability Data:
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CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 10 October 2012
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Projected population with a disability: 91,016 (2024 est.)