Former speaker Myriam Spiteri Debono is the frontrunner to become the next President of the Republic, sources have told Times of Malta. 

A notary by profession, Spiteri Debono was a Labour activist and electoral candidate in the 1980s and 1990s and served as the first woman speaker of parliament from 1996 to 1998 during Alfred Sant’s tenure.

She also served as president of Labour's women section and is widely known as a moderate with socialist beliefs. 

Sources said Prime Minister Robert Abela proposed her name to Bernard Grech on Wednesday, with the opposition leader indicating he would have no objection to the nominee, despite her Labour background. 

Grech is expected to convene the PN parliamentary group shortly to obtain their approval. 

Should the group give the green light, Spiteri Debono will assume the role of Malta's 11th President of the Republic on April 4, succeeding George Vella.

Contacted on Thursday morning, Spiteri Debono said: "Everybody, me included, should wait for the official announcement. And whoever the nominee is, I believe it should be the two sides of parliament who should make a statement". She had no further comment to make. 

The PN had already nominated Spiteri Debono, 71, for the Standards Commission job in January 2023, but she said she was not interested in the position. 

One PN source said: “Grech has made it clear that nobody from the Joseph Muscat team would be acceptable to the PN, and Spiteri Debono doesn't belong to that group. The party respects her and she was one of the few from the Labour camp to acknowledge the horror behind Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination and to call for redemption. She's definitely the frontrunner.” 

During a Victory Day speech in September 2021, Spiteri Debono paid tribute to the murdered journalist, calling on the nation to “redeem ourselves anew” and commit to the necessary reforms in the wake of the assassination.

“This was an execution, intimately connected with the investigations she conducted in the exercise of her profession as a journalist. It would help everyone to strengthen the respect and the appreciation we should have for all those who work in investigative journalism and who spread the news. Let us remember that journalism is the fourth pillar of democracy,” she had said. 

Spiteri Debono speaking about Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder in September 2021. Photo: DOI

Should the nomination be approved, it will be the end of months of speculation where the government and the opposition appeared miles apart on who should be the next president. 

Several names have been cited for the role, including European Commissioner Helena Dalli as well as current Speaker Anglu Farrugia. 

Following changes to the constitution in 2020, Malta’s next President will have to be appointed by a majority of at least two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives. All previous presidents only needed a simple majority after being proposed by the government.

George Vella’s five-year term ends on April 4 and cannot be renewed. The government, can, however, nominate an acting president until agreement is reached on a successor.

The president of Malta is a largely ceremonial role. But a president’s signature is the final step in the legislative process and no law can come into force without it.