Janice Chetcuti’s Gender Quota Decision Sees Emma Portelli Bonnici Frozen Out Of Parliament
PN candidate Janice Chetcuti’s decision to forego the casual elections and get elected via the gender quota mechanism instead has resulted in Emma Portelli Bonnici not entering Parliament.
Chetcuti was well-placed to get elected on a casual election on the 3rd district, for the seat vacated by Stephen Spiteri, but chose to enter Parliament via gender quota to ensure her district is represented by three MPs.
PN stalwart and Carm Mifsud Bonnici won the casual election this morning, returning as an MP for the sixth successive legislature.
The gender quota rule allowed the PN to elect six more MPs to Parliament following the end of the casual election process, with the women MPs ranked according to the number of votes they received by the time they were knocked out of the race and picked accordingly.
Rebekah Cilia's casual election victory allowed Eve Borg Bonello to enter Parliament
Chetcuti was first in line to get elected via quota, followed by Paula Mifsud Bonnici, Julie Zahra, Bernice Bonello, Rebekah Cilia, and Claudette Buttigieg.
As Cilia got elected via casual elections, her place in the ‘quota queue’ was taken up by the woman candidate who was seventh in line, 18-year-old Eve Borg Bonello, who has become the youngest MP in Maltese history.
Portelli Bonnici was eighth in line and would have joined the six had Chetcuti made it to Parliament via casual election. As it stands, the young lawyer was left wondering what could have been.
Independent candidate Arnold Cassola
Independent candidate Arnold Cassola decried Chetcuti’s decision as one that “makes a mockery of the supposed corrective mechanism”.
“She plays about with the system in order to ensure that her PN male colleague gets elected… at the expense of a woman,” he said.
“Is the will of the electors being respected? Is this right? Is this democracy?”
Cassola also pointed out that ADPD candidate Sandra Gauci had received more votes than PL’s Davina Sammut Hili. However, as the system only allows PL and PN women candidates to get elected via quota, Sammut Hili will make it to Parliament while Gauci won’t.
“Why do all proportionality mechanisms introduced by the PL and PN always ignore the will of non PL and PN voters?” he asked. “If introduced, truly democratic proportionality mechanisms should defend the rights of all voters.”
“The crux of the issue is that it is not true that the law is giving women representation in parliament according to the will of the voters.”
“This is the state of democracy in Malta. Shameful.”
Cover photo: Left: Emma Portelli Bonnici, Right: Janice Chetcuti, Inset: Carm Mifsud Bonnici
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