02/04/2022
The Centre Left Labour Party of Malta has won the majority of seats in the Maltese House of Representatives following a General Election on 26th March. For LGBTQIA people, the election result was broadly satisfying. Activists noted that the extreme right wing parties, ABBA Party and the People’s Party, failed to gain any seats, leaving the only two parties represented in the Parliament as the Labour Party and the Centre Right Nationalist Party. However, also failing to gain any seats were various progressive parties. Volt Malta, a left wing party, fielded two candidates including Kass Malia, the first trans person to run for Parliament. The liberal and green leaning AD + PD Party, which has a strong LGBTQIA rights platform, lost its two seats. Wikipedia notes that Malta has some of the most progressive legislation in place for LGBTQIA People. Samesex couples can marry and anti-discrimination measures are in force. People can change their gender without reference to surgery and the US Department of State has found that LGBTQIA travellers are relatively safe. The Malta Gay Rights Group continues to campaign on issues of hate crime, visibility and youth homelessness.
