2nd District

Vacated seat: Clyde Caruana

Candidates: Glenn Bedingfield, Edward Cassar Delia, James Grech, Mark Grech, Joe Mizzi, Oliver Scicluna and Amanda Spiteri Grech

Four candidates, including two former MPs, have thrown their names into the hat for the casual election on the 2nd District. 

James Grech looks the most likely to secure the seat. However, Glenn Bedingfield, Joe Mizzi and Oliver Scicluna do present major obstacles. 

Bedingfield does have donkey voting working in his favour in what could be a tight race, while Scicluna’s ties to Caruana through Prime Minister Robert Abela might be enough to turn the tide in his favour. Joe Mizzi performed better than the two men and it remains to be seen whether that will translate in the casual election.

Edward Cassar Delia, whose name falls right under Caruana’s on the ballot, does stand somewhat of a chance but his election would be a major surprise. 

3rd District 

Vacated seat: Owen Bonnici

Candidates: Ray Abela, Alicia Bugeja Said, Edward Cassar Delia, Audrey Demicoli, James Grech, Jean Claude Micallef and Joe Mizzi 

The fight for Owen Bonnici’s seat on the 3rd District looks like a one-horse race with Alicia Bugeja Said competing with Bonnici and Carmelo Abela right until the very last counts. 

Jean Claude Micallef is her closest challenger. However,  Bugeja Said’s position on the ballot, which is right under Bonnici’s, gives her an added push in the race.

On the other hand, Joe Mizzi, Audrey Demicoli, James Grech, Ray Abela, and Edward Cassar Delia did not perform well on the district and are well off the votes Bugeja Said received on the district.

4th District 

Vacated seat: Chris Fearne 

Candidates: Glenn Bedingfield, Herbert Conti, Katya De Giovanni, Amanda Spiteri Grech and Oliver Scicluna 

Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne scored a massive 6,770 first count votes on the 4th District, smashing the 3,752 quota. Where his excess votes went on Election Day does give some indication over the front runners in this casual election.

Oliver Scicluna (278), Glenn Bedingfield (267), Katya De Giovanni (187) and Amanda Spiteri Grech (184) received a substantial number of Fearne’s excess votes and does hint at how the race could pan out. 

Herbert Conti, meanwhile, received just 12 of Fearne’s votes, a worrying sign for his chances.

5th District

Vacated seat: Robert Abela 

Candidates: Gianluca Cutajar, Omar Farrugia, Jean Claude Micallef and Joseph Mario Sammut 

There is one clear favourite for Prime Minister Robert Abela’s vacated seat on the 5th District. Omar Farrugia received 435 of Abela’s excess votes, dwarfing his competitors  Joseph Mario Sammut (147), Jean Claude Micallef (95) and Gianluca Cutajar (76).

There could be some surprises but the odds seem firmly in Farrugia, who is currently the mayor of Mqabba. 

6th District 

Vacated seat: Ian Borg 

Candidates: Malcolm Paul Agius Galea, Sean Apap Melia, Fiona Borg, Joseph Cutajar, Rosianne Cutajar, Katya De Giovanni and Omar Farrugia 

A large field of seven candidates is competing for Ian Borg’s seat. Rosianne Cutajar is the clear front runner and has significant support in the district. She just missed out on getting elected after the initial count and looks almost certain to win the spot. 

Still, she does face a stiff challenge, particularly from Zebbug Mayor Malcolm Paul Agius Galea. Agius Galea, who is also the front runner on the 7th district casual election, does have strong ties to Borg. 

Over 85% of Agius Galea’s votes went to Borg over Cutajar when he dropped in the race. 

7th District 

Vacated seat: Silvio Schembri 

Candidates: Alicia Bugeja Said, Malcolm Paul Agius Galea, Naomi Cachia and Chris Grima

Agius Galea does have another chance in the 7th District. He is the Zebbug Mayor and competed with Julia Farrugia Portelli for one of the three available seats right until the very end of counting. 

Alicia Bugeja Said is his closest challenger, but it seems unlikely that she will have enough to win the seat. 

9th District

Vacated seats: Clifton Grima and Michael Falzon 

Candidate: Rebecca Buttigieg

No need to pay attention to the casual election on the 9th. Rebecca Buttigieg is the only candidate contesting here so will definitely win one of the seats. Randolph Debattista, the Editor of the Labour Party’s ‘The Journal’, has already been co-opted to take the other seat. 

11th District 

Vacated seats: Miriam Dalli 

Candidates: Anthony Agius Decelis and Romilda Zarb Baldacchino

Anthony Agius Decelis and Romilda Zarb Baldacchino will battle it out for Miriam Dalli’s available seat. Agius Decelis, who served as an MP in the previous legislature, is the favourite having competed with Alex Muscat right until the final count. 

However, Romilda Zarb Baldacchino is the current Mayor of Mosta, the largest locality in the district, and could see her popularity in the area tip the race in her favour. 

And how does the Gender Corrective Mechanism work?

The gender corrective mechanism, introduced into law last year, will apply once the casual elections are over. Each party will receive six seats from the quota.

Unelected female candidates who do not get elected through casual election will be ranked according to the number of votes they received by the time they were knocked out of the race and picked accordingly. 

Female candidates who could get elected through casual elections have been marked with a *.

1. Rosianne Cutajar* – 2,919
2. Alicia Bugeja Said* – 2,122
3. Cressida Galea – 1,540
4. Abigail Camilleri – 1,432
5. Katya De Giovanni* – 1,308
6. Romilda Baldacchino Zarb* – 1,086
7. Amanda Spiteri Grech* – 857
8. Naomi Cachia* – 763
9. Davina Sammut Hili – 46
10. Fiona Borg – 246
11. Audrey Demicoli – 130
12. Fleur Vella – 55

Who do you think will win in the casual elections?