Democratic Party (Malta)

The Democratic Party (Maltese: Partit Demokratiku, PD) is a centrist to centre-left[1] political party in Malta. It was founded in 2016 after a split from the Labour Party. In August 2020 the party announced an agreement to merge with the Democratic Alternative to form a new party provisionally called AD/PD.[2]

Democratic Party

Partit Demokratiku
AbbreviationPD
LeaderTimothy Alden
Secretary GeneralMark Zerafa
Founded21 October 2016 (2016-10-21)
Split fromLabour Party
Youth wingThe Orange Youth
IdeologySocial liberalism
Green liberalism
Pro-Europeanism
Political positionCentre to centre-left
European affiliationAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
European Parliament groupRenew Europe
Colours     Orange
House of Representatives
0 / 67
European Parliament
0 / 6
Website
www.pd.org.mt

History

The PD was founded in 2016 by Marlene Farrugia, who previously sat as an MP for the Labour Party before leaving the party and sitting as an independent MP. Announcing the formation of the new party in June 2016, Farrugia as interim leader stated that the party was a new alternative to the traditionally dominant Labour and Nationalist parties.[3]

Upon formation, founder Marlene Farrugia was declared interim leader.[4] On 21 October 2016, Farrugia was elected the first leader of the PD at a general meeting to confirm the party executive.[5] The party was formally registered with the Electoral Commission of Malta in November 2016.[6]

Policies

The PD website cites a manifesto covering a variety of domains, focussing prominently on democratic principles and good governance. It also tackles issues of the economy, environment, justice and security, as well as other social issues.[7]

Elections

2017 general elections
See also: Forza Nazzjonali

Farrugia stated in January 2017 that the PD was "close" to forming a deal with the opposition Nationalist Party where the two parties would cooperate against the Labour government, though she did not specify if such a deal would be a formal coalition.[8] On 7 April 2017 Farrugia confirmed in an interview with the Times of Malta that PD candidates would be listed as Nationalist Party candidates on the ballot for the 2017 general election.[9] Despite reaching agreement about running candidates under the same banner, formal coalition negotiations remained ongoing[10] until the announcement of a formal agreement on 28 April.[11] Under the agreement, PD candidates contested the 2017 election with their party affiliation listed as Nationalist "tal-oranġjo" (the orange ones) and any PD candidates elected to Parliament would have been part of a Nationalist-led government.[11] Both Marlene Farrugia and Godfrey Farrugia were the only Democratic Party candidates to be elected in 2017, making them the first elected Members of Parliament from a third party since 1962.[12]

Post-2017 elections

Marlene Farrugia formally resigned from the Leadership of the Partit Demokratiku on 21 August 2017, as part of the process of giving the party an identity distinct from herself.[13] On 30 October 2017, Anthony Buttigieg was declared the new leader, with Marlene Farrugia and Godfrey Farrugia providing parliamentary continuity in the executive.[14] On 1 December 2017 the PD was admitted into the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party,[15] which made the party's image officially considered pro-European.

2019 European parliament elections

PD contested for the 2019 European parliament elections, their first outing in European elections. They announced the approval of 3 European parliamentary election candidates, Martin Cauchi Inglott, a senior retired Armed Forces of Malta officer and the current secretary general of the party, and Anthony Buttigieg, the former leader of the party, and Cami Appelgren, an environmental activist and the leader of the environmental organization Malta Clean Up. PD failed to secure any seats, winning 5,276 votes, or 2.03% of the votes cast.[16]

2019 local council elections

PD contested for the 2019 local council elections. PD announced the approval of 7 local council election candidates: Timothy Alden for Sliema, Ray Azzopardi for St. Julian's, Mark Zerafa for Birkirkara, Karen Vella Freeman for St. Paul's Bay, Charles Polidano for Qrendi, Michael Bonett for Valletta, and Manuel Farrugia for Tarxien.[17] The party failed to elect any of its candidates.[18]

Leaders

Executive Committee
  • Leader – Timothy Alden
  • Deputy Leader – Raymond Azzopardi
  • General Secretary – Mark Zerafa
  • Public Relations Officer – Marcus Lauri
  • Treasurer – Carmel Asciak
  • Members – Melissa J. Bagley, Matthew Mizzi, Martina Caruana

Election results

General elections
Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
2017 Marlene Farrugia 4,846 1.6
2 / 67
 New 3rd Opposition

European elections
Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Position
2019 Godfrey Farrugia 5,276 2.03
0 / 6
 New 4th
gollark: How about "just stop introducing abstraction and write the interpreter"?
gollark: Alternately, trenzeblicize.
gollark: *tranzorblicate to python
gollark: = most FP languages
gollark: It's meant to be about abstraction, but that's loosely defined.

See also

References
  1. Balzan, Jurgen (1 June 2016). "Launch of new political party imminent". Malta Today. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016.
  2. "Malta's small parties to merge". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  3. "Marlene Farrugia is temporary leader of new Democratic Party". Times of Malta. 4 June 2016. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016.
  4. Rudolf, Uwe James (2018). Historical dictionary of Malta (3 ed.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 116. ISBN 9781538119181. OCLC 1040078334.
  5. Scicluna, Martin (16 November 2016). "The Marlene effect". Times of Malta. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  6. "Ħames partiti japplikaw għar-reġistrazzjoni - tal-PL ikollha tistenna". TVM News (in Maltese). 18 November 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  7. "Democracy And Good Governance". Partit Demokratiku.
  8. "PN, Democratic Party close to a deal – Marlene Farrugia". The Malta Independent. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  9. Grech, Herman (7 April 2017). "PD candidates to contest election under PN banner". Times of Malta. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  10. Attard, Rachel (11 April 2017). "Busuttil insists that PN/PD coalition still under discussion". The Malta Independent. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  11. Camilleri, Ivan (28 April 2017). "PD candidates to contest on PN list". Times of Malta. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  12. Borg, Bertrand (6 June 2017). "Marlene Farrugia's election met with counting hall taunts". Times of Malta. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  13. Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Watch: Marlene Farrugia's election met with counting hall taunts".
  14. "Anthony Buttigieg is new Democratic Party leader".
  15. "ALDE welcomes new member parties | ALDE Party". Aldeparty.eu. 2017-11-30. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  16. "Electoral Commission of Malta". electoral.gov.mt.
  17. "PD launches local councils election manifesto, introduces candidates - The Malta Independent". www.independent.com.mt. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  18. "Electoral Commission of Malta". electoral.gov.mt.
  19. https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/farrugias-resign-from-partit-demokratiku-to-give-party-chance-to.737060
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