European Elections and Local Councils

 

Last Updated: 18/02/2022

VOTING FOR THE LOCAL COUNCILS’ AND EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS

  1. To register to vote, a valid identification document issued by Maltese authorities is a must. A Maltese person, needs to apply for the Identity Card at the Identity Management Office (at Gattard House, National Road, Blata l-Bajda or at Triq ta' Wara s-Sur, in Rabat, Gozo). 

If a non-Maltese EU national, one must apply for a Residence Card at the Expatriates Unit at Valley Road, L-Imsida.

 

In order to be registered as voter, one must also attain the age of 16 years prior to election day and have all the other necessary qualifications, as by law.

                                                             

2.  When applying for an identification document, one will be asked to fill in a form to be registered as a voter in the Local Councils Electoral Register and to opt to be registered in the European Union Electoral Register. 

An EU national can register to vote for the European Elections either in Malta (Section C option 1 of the form) or in any other member state (Section C option 2). 

If one chooses to vote in Malta (for candidates contesting the election in Malta), the electoral authority in your home member state will be informed to avoid double-voting.

 

  1. If you're a non-Maltese EU national who previously decided to vote in your home member state, but you now want to vote in Malta (for candidates contesting the election in Malta), fill in this form again. Download it from here. Once properly filled in, send it by post (free of charge) to the Electoral Commission at Ex-Trade Fair Grounds, In-Naxxar. You can also submit it in person to your Local Council office or any police station to be forwarded to the Electoral Commission. 

 

  1. The Electoral Office, receives the relevant application forms to be correctly registered as an elector, at the same time, a person applies for the Identity Card. Any application for an inclusion, change or disqualification of an elector is reflected in the upcoming Register to be published.

 

  1. An elector is registered strictly on the address and the division whereby he resides. One can check if he’s registered here. The revised Electoral Registers are published in April and October of each year. 

 

  1. Any person may lodge an appeal, on his/her behalf or someone else’s stead, to remove the name of a voter who has lost one or more eligibility requirements to be registered as a voter or any change in one of the particulars.

 

  1. For those residing in Malta, the appeal is to be submitted at the Registrar’s office at the Law Courts, Valletta, Malta, whereas for Gozo residents the appeal is to be submitted at the Registrar’s office at the Law Courts, Rabat, Gozo, within 21 days from the publication of the Electoral Register. There are no fees payable for these appeals.

 

  1. During the first phase of the delivery of voting documents, a voting document shall be delivered at the elector’s registered address by a Police Officer or by any other person appointed by the Electoral Commission. As proof of delivery, the person to whom it is addressed, or any other adult person, who either resides at the same address or is in his employment, at the address of the voter as shown in the Electoral Register must sign for the voting document. Each Political Party, represented in the House of Representatives, has the right to nominate one representative to accompany each Police Officer during delivery.

 

  1. Once the door to door delivery is completed and no one was at home when the Police Officer called, the elector may collect the voting document by calling personally at the Police Station (or Local Council in certain localities) of the town or village where he/she is registered. The Voting Document is to be collected by the elector himself on presentation of a valid Identity Card. Collection of voting documents on behalf of any other elector is precluded.

 

  1. Once the days allocated for the collection of voting documents from the Police Station/Local Council expires, an elector who is registered in Malta may personally collect his/her voting document from the Electoral Commission's office, wheras, if one is registered in Gozo, from the Electoral Office in Rabat, Gozo, on presentation of a valid Identity Card.

 

  1. The guidelines for prospective candidates are issued once an election date is announced.

 

  1. On Polling Day, in order to cast the vote, one must present his/her voting document to the Assistant Electoral Commissioners at the polling station indicated on the voting document itself. Polling stations will be open from 7.00am to 10.00pm. No one is allowed to vote without presenting the voting document issued by the Electoral Commission.

 

  1. Voting in Malta is not compulsory.

 

  1. Malta uses the Single-Transferable Vote (STV) system. The STV system is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through ranked voting. An elector shall have one transferable vote. In casting the vote, one must place a number ‘1’ against the name of the candidate for whom he/she desires most to see elected. Additionally, the elector may also indicate the order of preference for as many candidates as he/she desires as second choice. Then one shall repeat the reference to a third or any subsequent preference until he/she does not desire to express any further choice.