Is it time for a reform of the ballot vote paper?

Abstract

Election time in Malta is fast approaching as the date for both the local council elections and the central government one has been set for 9 March, it is going to be another harsh election campaign, where both parties will seek' to hit below the belt. With the fairly recent divorce campaign, Malta has had a taste of what any future election campaigns hold since the former was a testing ground for new propaganda tactics. Most probably, the role that ITC and the social media will play in the forthcoming elections will make prospective voters forget other basic issues regarding our electoral system, which, despite its deficiencies, none of the major parties has ever seriously considered resolving. One of the acknowledged deficiencies is the name roll in our ballot vote paper.