Direct democracy : a discussion on the referenda issues in Malta

Abstract

So far the instruments of direct democracy in Malta have been very scarcely used. In fact, from the first referendum held in Malta, which goes way back to the 1870, up to date we have only experienced 6 referenda in all. However, one cannot say that the referenda mechanism is not important to our democracy especially if one considers the fact that 3 of these referenda were fundamental in deciding the future of our country's major historical events. Therefore, it is extremely important that we have adequate laws which regulate properly the mechanism of direct democracy in our country. The objective of this research is to determine whether the laws governing the referenda in Malta are sufficient or if maybe they need some modifications in order to function better. The research methodology implied in this study consists of an in depth analysis of the referenda held in Malta. The researcher opted to examine 4 national referenda in order to discover the problems surrounding these consultative referenda. The assay was mainly focused on the parliamentary debates concerning these referenda. Thereafter, the researcher attempts to identify solutions which might be useful in order to resolve the problems arising from the researched consultative referenda. These solutions were obtained by interviewing 4 members of parliament pertaining to the 2 major political parties in Malta. Moreover, through these interviews, the study tries to acquire qualitative information regarding the laws of the abrogative and mandatory referenda as well. The study arrives to the conclusion that in order to perform better, the referenda laws do require some modifications particularly the law concerning the consultative referendum. On the other hand, our politicians need to operate in good faith and try to do their best in order to make our institutions function better.