Labour will hold casual elections in these districts

Following the appointment of a new cabinet, the PL has now decided where the casual elections will be held.

Unlike the PN, where the party statute states that MPs elected in two districts must vacate the seat where they received the lowest share of votes, Labour’s rules give the party a free hand to decide which seats should be vacated.

Late on Wednesday, the PL said its national executive had decided on the casual elections through a secret ballot.

Eight Labour MPs are giving up their seats, triggering a casual election in seven districts.

These are the second, third, seventh, eighth, ninth, eleventh and twelfth districts.

Prime Minister Robert Abela, elected from the second and fifth districts, will vacate the second district seat.

Ian Borg, Robert Abela and Clyde Caruana will all be renouncing one of their seats. File photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Nine candidates on the district ballot sheet missed out on a seat, meaning there could be a tight race here.

The leading contenders are likely to be BOV director James Grech and SEM head Rodrick Zerafa, both of whom performed strongly. However, other candidates, including Jorge Grech and Clint Azzopardi Flores, could also be eyeing a spot.

Clyde Caruana, who was also elected in the second district, will be dropping his District 8 seat, where several notable names missed out.

These include former party president Ramona Attard and Yana Borg Debono Grech, both of whom could also make it to parliament through the gender corrective mechanism, with former parliamentary secretary Alex Muscat also in the running.

Muscat, however, is also the frontrunner in District 11, where Miriam Dalli is renouncing her seat. 

His competitors in the district are lawyer Francesca Zarb and pharmacist and former MP Romilda Zarb, both of whom could also be in the running for an eventual seat through the gender mechanism.

Chris Fearne's strong showing means he will give up a seat in either district 3 or 4. File photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Chris Fearne, meanwhile, will vacate a seat on District 3.

Andy Ellul is the prime contender for a spot here, although other candidates, such as former MPs Ray Abela and Katya Degiovanni (another possible gender mechanism candidate), are also vying for a seat.

Jonathan Attard is meanwhile giving up his seat in District 12.

Here, several big-name candidates are eyeing his seat, from former MPs such as Franco Mercieca, Naomi Cachia and Deborah Schembri to young up-and-comers such as Carlos Zarb.

Naomi Cachia is one of several candidates vying for a seat through a casual election. File photo: Matthew Mirabelli

A contest will also open up in District 7, where Ian Borg, also elected in District 6, will give up his seat.

Here, Omar Rababah is in contention, although he will be facing stiff competition from Naomi Cachia and Samantha Pace Gasan.

The final two casual elections will be held in District 9, where Michael Falzon and Clifton Grima are both set to give up a seat.

In both districts, several women lead the way, although some could also be up for election through the gender corrective mechanism.

These include former parliamentary secretary Rebecca Buttigieg, who performed well on election day but missed out in a tough district, as well as Deborah Schembri, Lisa Cassar Shaw and Mariah Meli.

However, economists Clint Azzopardi Flores and David Caruana are also in the running.