Women in Maltese General Elections

Fifteen general elections have been contested since the granting of universal suffrage in Malta. Only 73 women have contested in these elections. The number of men, on the other hand, has exceeded 1000. The number of women contesting general elections has, however, increased over the years. In fact, the 1998 elections saw 24 women candidates participating, the highest number to date, with six of these getting elected, registering a 25 percent success rate.

The smallest number of female candidates was in 1947, these numbering only two. However, the result showed a 50 percent success rate, since Agatha Barbara was elected. The election of 1955 saw the lowest percentage of women candidates being elected with a 14.3 percent success rate, when only one candidate out of seven was elected. After this discouraging result, the success rate rose slowly until, in the 1976 election, there was a 42.3 percent success rate for women candidates. At that time, three out of seven contestants were returned. These were two Labour candidates Agatha Barbara and Evelyn Bonaci, while Anne Agius Ferrante from the PN obtained a seat following a by-election.

However, the success rates of the first and third elections won by female candidates have never been matched up till now (in 1947 it reached 50 percent while in 1951 it was 57.1 percent). The rate slowly rose to 42.9 percent in 1976, but this momentum was lost and success fell to 20 percent in 1981. It rose to just 28.6 percent in 2003. The 2003 election gave the same results as that of 1998, with six women parliamentarians, three each for the two main political parties.

It is interesting to note that since the granting of the right to vote, the Malta Labour Party (MLP) has consistently fielded women in all general elections, and has always (except during the 1992-96 legislature) had at least one female member of parliament over all years. One in general elections of 1947, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1962, and 1987, two female members in 1951, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, and 1996, three members in 1998 and 2003, and four members in 2008. The overall number of women contesting under the MLP flag up to the 2003 election is 57, altogether winning 27 seats.

The ten female candidates, and the number of times they have been successful, are:

The Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista, PN), on the other hand, fieled its first female candidate, Mary Louise Muscat Manduca, in 1950, but it was Anne Agius Ferrante, for the first time, successfully contested the 1976 elections under PN flag, and was elected in a by-election, It was not before 1987 that another PN female candidate made it to parliament - Giovanna Debono for Gozo. The number of PN candidates rose considerably over the last years. In fact, overall, 57 PN females contested the elections and won 13 seats. One in 1976, 1987, and 1992 elections, two in 1996 and 2008 elections, and three in 1998 and 2003 elections.

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