Former Labour Party President Ramona Attard is going to be co-opted to Parliament, sources informed The Malta Independent.

She will replace Randolph Debattista, who resigned as an MP to take up an ambassadorial role.

When she had announced her resignation from the PL President position last August, Attard had said that she was "ready for a new challenge" and she did not contest any role in the party's internal elections in September. She was one of several high-ranking PL officials who did not recontest for their posts within the party.

She had said that the Labour Party should be an open movement where ideas are debated. "Above all, we must remain the home for progressives and liberals," she had said at the time, calling for "courageous" decisions to be taken sooner rather than later.

Prime Minister Robert Abela had described her as a progressive liberal voice who worked for minorities.

During her outgoing speech in September, she had condemned those using the Standards Commissioner role to "attack" Ministers and their wives for being given a role for their competency. "The Standards Commissioner role is important and we did well in creating it, but it was not created to scare. It is time for a revision of the role so that abuse can be stopped, and it is not used as a tool of intimidation," she had said.

Attard had appealed for more humanity in politics, as this has "regressed a lot." She had said that condemnation is not enough, and action must be taken as the PL is in government. Attard had also controversially said that it was a mistake to remove prison sentences for criminal libel. 

Debattista had been co-opted as a Member of Parliament in March 2022 after the results of the general election were made public.