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Malta General Election · 30 May 2026

How to Vote

A non-partisan guide to casting your vote well on 30 May 2026.

How your vote works

Your vote goes to the candidate — not the party

In Malta's Single Transferable Vote system, your preference vote goes to an individual candidate, not to a party. You can rank candidates from different parties in any order — your ballot is fully valid and every preference counts.

Example of a valid cross-party ballot

  1. 1
    Candidate APN
  2. 2
    Candidate BLabour
  3. 3
    Candidate CADPD
  4. 4
    Candidate DPN

When your first-choice candidate is eliminated or already elected with surplus votes, your ballot transfers to your next preference — party affiliation is irrelevant to the transfer. Leave any candidate you consider a bad actor unranked — an unranked candidate receives nothing from you under any circumstances.

One indirect party effect: If a party wins a majority of first-preference votes nationally but still doesn't get a parliamentary majority, it receives bonus seats via a constitutional correction mechanism. Your first preference carries a faint party-level signal in this specific edge case — but it doesn't change how your vote is counted or transferred in the normal seat-allocation process.

Strategic use of your ranking

  • Give your 1 to the best individual candidate regardless of party — vote your conscience first
  • Use 2, 3, 4 to support reform-minded or competent candidates from other parties, including ADPD and Momentum
  • Use later numbers to express a weak preference between remaining candidates you find acceptable
  • Leave bad actors unranked — an empty preference gives them nothing
  • Candidates within the same party compete against each other for preferences — a sitting minister and a backbencher are rivals for the same pool of votes

The voting system

How the voting system works

  1. 1

    Number your preferences

    Write 1 next to your first choice, 2 next to your second, and so on. You don't have to rank every candidate — stop wherever you like.

  2. 2

    Your vote transfers

    If your first choice is eliminated or has already reached the quota, your vote moves to your next preference — at full or reduced value. No vote is wasted.

  3. 3

    Five seats per district

    You are electing five individual MPs, not just a party. Ranking candidates from different parties on the same ballot is entirely valid.

  4. 4

    Vote your true first preference

    The Single Transferable Vote is designed so that backing your genuine first choice never harms that candidate. Tactical voting is rarely necessary.

Candidate evaluation

What to look for

Competence signals

  • ✓Specific, costed proposals
  • ✓Relevant expertise or professional track record
  • ✓History of following through on past commitments
  • ✓Willingness to answer direct, specific questions

Integrity signals

  • ✓Asset declarations consistent with known income
  • ✓Disclosed conflicts of interest on record
  • ✓Has publicly criticised own party when warranted
  • ✓No documented involvement in cronyism or patronage

Disqualifying behaviours

Red flags

  • Planning irregularities or documented benefit from ODZ development
  • Opposition to transparency reform or suppression of public scrutiny
  • Factually false campaign claims — verify at FactCheck.mt
  • AI-generated disinformation — this is Malta's first AI-era election
  • Extremist or ethno-nationalist affiliation

Context

Key issues

Financial transparency

Asset declarations

MP asset declarations are technically public but are filed with the Speaker's office and are not available online. You must submit a formal request to access them.

Ministerial declarations — which were publicly tabled for 30 years — were rolled back in 2025. The Standards Commissioner publicly objected to the change.

The most accessible research route is investigative journalism. Times of Malta and The Shift News have documented asset-related controversies for individual politicians.

Standards Commissioner: standardscommissioner.mt

Before polling day

Practical checklist

  • Look up your electoral district and confirm your polling station at electoral.gov.mt
  • Watch or read coverage of district-level candidate debates
  • Check incumbents' parliamentary voting record — it's public
  • Verify viral content before sharing: screenshots lie, check primary sources
  • Use later preferences (2, 3, 4…) for reform-minded candidates you'd otherwise leave blank
  • Confirm your polling station address in the days before the election

Ready?

Find your candidates

Browse every candidate in your district — track record, controversies, electability.

Choose your district

Data compiled from public sources. This guide is non-partisan and editorially independent.