A constitutional amendment designed to ensure that the number of MPs in parliament is proportional to the total share of votes a particular party receives has seen two Nationalist Party veterans, Carm Mifsud Bonnici and Frederick Azzopardi make it back into Parliament.

The PN was awarded two additional seats because despite managing to elect 28 MPs, the overall election results with a margin of 35,000 votes translates into a seven seat majority for the Labour Party.

In turn, the PL managed to elect 37 MPs, therefore necessitating an additional two seats for the PN in order to respect the system of proportionality.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici and Mr Azzopardi have been members of the PN for a long time, and were the two runner-up candidates, meaning that they were the two PN unelected candidates to win the highest number of votes.

The former had served as both a Justice Minister and a Home Affairs Minister under the leadership of former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.

Mr Azzopardi had decided to seek reelection at the last minute, after having decades of experience in Parliament and contemplating on whether he should contest the election. Thanks to the system of proportionality, he will be returning for what is likely his final term.