Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1330252
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 JANUARY 2021 NEWS Delivery fee of just €1 per day for orders up to 5 newspapers per address To subscribe 1. Email us your choice of newspapers, recipient's name, address, contact number to production @millermalta.com 2. Forward cheques payable to Miller Distributors Ltd on address: Miller House, Airport Way, Tarxien Road, Luqa LQA1814 Queries on other news- papers and magazines, production@ millermalta.com maltatoday Same-day delivery of your favourite Sunday newspaper Monday-Friday MaltaToday Midweek • €1 BusinessToday • €1.50 Sunday MaltaToday • €1.95 ILLUM • €1.25 Support your favourite newspaper with a subscription https://bit.ly/2X9csmr MATTHEW AGIUS ADPD said it agrees with the need of affirmative action to address the lack of gender bal- ance in Parliament, but took the government to task over its pro- posal to address this imbalance, describing it as "both degrading and discriminatory." Sandra Gauci, ADPD spokes- person, addressed a press con- ference outside Parliament, where lawmakers are currently discussing legislation intended to address MP gender imbal- ance. "Addressing gender imbalance is long overdue but it should be addressed properly. It is de- grading to pick up unelected Parliamentary candidates with a fraction of the votes required for election and to declare them as MPs as a consolation prize. Fe- male candidates should have a proper opportunity to compete for a seat in Parliament at par with male candidates," Gauci said. Gauci added that rather than tinkering with the electoral sys- tem a complete overhaul is re- quired. "ADPD has already proposed, over one year ago, an alternative system based on gender-bal- anced party lists as is already done in various other European countries," ADPD Chairperson, Carmel Cacopardo added. "The Commission entrusted with the proposed reforms dis- carded ADPD's proposals with- out even considering it appro- priate to carry out research and discuss further the proposals." Government's proposals were also discriminatory, added Ca- copardo, as they discriminated against women active in third parties. Bill 119 makes it clear that the objective is to apply the new rules in general elections "when candidates from two parties make it to Parliament," Caco- pardo said. He praised the Opposition's declaration that it will seek to move amendments in particular to address the discrimination against third/small parties as "laudable" but said it would not achieve much through tinkering with the current electoral sys- tem. The ADPD chairperson added that an overhaul of the electoral system is required addressing both the gender-balance as well as the proportionality Constitu- tional top-ups both of which he described as discriminatory as they are "specifically designed for a two-party system." ADPD has proposed an alter- native consisting of basing elec- tions on party lists which should be gender balanced. "At the end of the day this would also do away with the need to correct re- sults to adjust for proportionali- ty as elections so organised give us results which are strictly pro- portional too. We need serious electoral reform instead of tink- ering with the Constitution in the interests of the large parties in parliament," Cacopardo said. Serious electoral reform needed on gender imbalance, not tinkering Carmel Cacopardo