15 MPs Must Give Up A Seat: Here’s What Happens Next

The 2026 general election may be over, but for a number of candidates the process is only just beginning. A total of 15 candidates were elected from two districts, meaning they must now relinquish one of their seats and trigger a series of casual elections that will help determine the final composition of parliament. Among those elected on two districts are party leaders Robert Abela and Alex Borg, alongside some of the country’s most popular politicians including Adrian Delia, Ian Borg, Stephen Spiteri, Chris Fearne and Clyde Caruana. Labour Party Robert Abela (21,682 votes) Ian Borg (10,108) Chris Fearne (7,091) Jonathan Attard (5,942) Clyde Caruana (5,775) Clifton Grima (5,618) Michael Falzon (5,042) Miriam Dalli (4,739) Nationalist Party Alex Borg (21,825 votes) Adrian Delia (10,988) Stephen Spiteri (8,357) Mark Anthony Sammut (5,904) Joe Giglio (5,430) Conrad Borg Manche (4,864) Rebekah Borg (4,057) What Is A Casual Election? Under Malta’s electoral system, candidates can contest up to two districts and may be elected on both. However, MPs can only occupy one parliamentary seat. This means that every candidate elected twice must give up one of those seats. Once that happens, a casual election is held to determine who fills the vacancy. How Does The Process Work? The Electoral Commission reopens the ballot papers of the candidate who vacated the seat and redistributes them among the remaining unelected candidates in that district according to Malta’s Single Transferable Vote (STV) system. This process can dramatically change the makeup of a district and often provides a route into parliament for candidates who narrowly missed out on election day. Different Rules For PL And PN The PN’s statute automatically determines which seat a dual-district winner must relinquish. Candidates give up the district where they achieved the lower percentage of the quota. Labour follows a different process. The party executive decides which district seat each dual-district winner will vacate. Parliament Is Already Bigger Than 65 Seats While each district elects five MPs, the composition of parliament has already changed. The proportionality corrective mechanism has already added two additional PN MPs: Janice Abela Chetcuti (District 3) Frank Anthony Tabone (District 13) Those additions increased parliament beyond the traditional 65 seats and ensured the final result more closely reflected the national vote share. Over the coming weeks, the Electoral Commission will conduct a series of casual elections in the districts affected by dual-district winners. In other words, while the election result is settled, the race for some parliamentary seats is far from over. Which candidate do you think is most likely to benefit from the upcoming casual elections? •