Eight Labour Party candidates were elected this morning in casual elections held to vacate seats of MPs who were elected from two districts in the general election heldmon 30 May.

The exercise yielded four women and four men as new Labour MPs.

In all, six of the elected have already serve in Parliament with the remaining two, Clint Azzopardi Flores and Mariah Meli, being elected for the first time.

Ramona Attard (above) became the first candidate to be elected from a casual election on District 8. She had a close race with Alex Muscat for the seat that was vacated by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana.

Just 80 votes separated Attard and Muscat upon the first count of votes, though Attard retained and gradually expanded her lead as PL candidates were being eliminated, count by count, and votes were being inherited.

Attard gained the largest vote total from the eight casual elections on Friday morning, with a total of 3,691 votes at final count from the 4,028 votes counted.  This was the first time that Attard has contested an election - she was previously in Parliament because she was co-opted to her seat.

In her first reactions to being elected on Friday morning, through the first of eight casual elections on the day, Ramona Attard said that she is very satisfied and also very happy with the Labour Party’s performance to get itself re-elected to government.

Attard, visibly beaming upon the news that she will serve as an MP this legislature, mentioned that this was her first experience working in a general election on a district basis. She stated that in her time in the Labour Party’s executive team, as the party’s former president, she had worked for the PL to prepare on all districts, rather than focusing on just one or two electoral districts.

Attard noted that as PL President, she had approached some candidates to contest on the Labour Party’s ballot in the 2022 general election and commended the camaraderie PL officials.

Attard thanked everyone who voted for her on the eighth and sixth districts and said she is feeling “very enthusiastic” to work in the PL parliamentary group to help implement the party’s electoral manifesto.

Attard said that she believes that the Labour Party has a good mix of experience and newcomers amongst its elected and unelected officials and said that this team of people will assure that the PL remains strong in the coming five years.

Naomi Cachia (above) followed suit on District 7, being elected to replace the seat vacated by Health Minister Ian Borg. Cachia obtained over double Samantha Pace Gasan’s vote total and was elected immediately with over 2,500 votes. Only two candidates contested here.

After collecting herself following an emotional reaction to getting re-elected, Naomi Cachia told journalists that said that she is very happy with the result, that she worked very hard for it, and that she is satisfied to be able to contribute over the coming legislature – no matter her role in Parliament.

She praised Pace Gasan following this casual election result, stating that Pace Gasan will contribute very well “wherever life takes her.”

When asked whether she expects to be reinstated as Government Whip, Cachia said that as a woman who entered the Labour Party “at a very young age,” she’s always understood that she must serve wherever she is needed. Hence, she said that it is the Prime Minister’s prerogative to select who will be the PL parliamentary group’s Whip and that she left PM Abela with the “full serenity” he needs to make this decision.

She noted that as Government Whip, this role required her to never put her personal interests over the PL parliamentary group.

Cachia dismissed assumptions that she will be named Government Whip once again, stating that this expectation only exists because people have gotten used to her in the role since she was appointed in 2024. She succeeded Andy Ellul as Government Whip, who was also later re-elected as an MP in Friday’s casual elections.

Rebecca Buttigieg (above) also made a return to Parliament, beating Clint Azzopardi Flores for Justice Minister Clifton Grima's seat on District 9.

Despite Azzopardi Flores reducing the gap to just 94 votes on the seventh count – from the 366-vote difference at the start – the former Parliamentary Secretary was ultimately elected with Azzopardi Flores and Mariah Meli behind her.

Azzopardi Flores and Meli were elected in the casual elections counted right afterwards.

Speaking to the media after being elected, Buttigieg said that she was pleased with the amount of women elected in the casual elections and election as a whole, saying that it was evident that the gender corrective mechanism had a positive impact.  She said that she is looking forward to the mechanism not being needed anymore.

Asked whether she had wanted to be a part of Robert Abela’s Cabinet – which Abela has said will not see any new additions – Buttigieg said that it was the biggest privilege of her life to serve and that she was very proud of what she had achieved as a Parliamentary Secretary, but the Cabinet is the Prime Minister’s prerogative and she respects his decision and is looking forward to implementing the PL’s manifesto.

Asked whether she liked the fact that her portfolio has now been elevated to a ministry, Buttigieg said that each legislature had its own needs and she welcomed this decision as it ensures that equality is given the attention it deserves.

“When you see the Nationalist Party have candidates who are speaking against Pride, and you see that the Nationalist Party has unfortunately not changed its attitudes, you realise that the PL remains the only voice in favour of civil rights,” Buttigieg said.

Clint Azzopardi Flores (above) made it through to Parliament on District 2, which was vacated by Prime Minister Robert Abela.

Azzopardi Flores, who had also contested the MEP election, is a new addition to Labour's parliamentary team.

His election on this district was something of a surprise – Azzopardi Flores himself had said that he was more likely to be elected on District 9 – but with 1,215 first count votes he had a strong margin over the 7 other PL candidates who contested.

Rodrick Zerafa was the last candidate eliminated from this District 2 casual election; he trailed Azzopardi Flores by 301 votes on the penultimate count, just before being eliminated from the race himself.

Speaking to the media after his election, Azzopardi Flores said that being elected from District 2 was something “romantic” for him because he is from Cospicua and as he was also expecting to perform well on District 9.  He said he would continue to represent the people of both districts regardless, and said that he would also help anyone irrespective of their district.

Asked whether it was more satisfying to be elected after a very short electoral campaign, Azzopardi Flores said that he had never stopped working even after the 2024 MEP Elections.  “I was always visible to people and I think the people rewarded me for the work I did with them,” he said.

Asked what his priorities would be, Azzopardi Flores replied that they would be the environment, social sector, and governance. “I pledged this beforehand, and I will pledge it again,” he said, before adding that he would always follow the party line.

Next to be elected was Mariah Meli (above), a newcomer to Parliament, who took over the seat vacated by Michael Falzon on District 9.

The two previous results worked greatly in her favour, as both Buttigieg and Azzopardi Flores had also submitted their names to contest this parliamentary seat.

However, due to the random order upon which these casual elections were to be carried out, since they were done one-by-one, the two MP-elects had just acquired their seats, meaning that Meli ended acquiring Minister Falzon’s vacant seat with ease.

In comment to the media, Meli said that this was her first experience of a general election as a candidate and that she was looking forward to implementing the PL’s manifesto with the rest of the parliamentary team.  She said that her authenticity as a woman, mother, student, and youth makes her more able to relate to people.

Meli has also been the mayor of Gharghur, although there was controversy over how she came into that role as it was only possible by a PN councillor defecting from the party. Asked whether this controversy had given her a certain national profile, Meli sidestepped the question and said that she was there to serve the people of Gharghur and that serving those who she represents remains her focus, even as an MP.

Alex Muscat (above) has also been returned to Parliament, on District 11, taking up the seat vacated by Energy Minister Miriam Dalli. Muscat was elected on the first count, with 1,964 total votes, to run away with this three-horse race between himself, Francesca Zarb, and Romilda Zarb.

In his first comments after being elected, Muscat said that he was happy to be in Parliament for third successive term and said that he was also pleased that it appears that both the candidates who contested against him – Francesca Zarb and Romilda Zarb – are likely to make it to Parliament via the gender corrective mechanism.

Asked whether he was expecting any role in government, Muscat said that his thoughts right now are on taking his place in Parliament to do the best he can for his district, then “other considerations will come later.”  Asked to clarify what his other considerations were, he said that they were doing his best for his constituents.

Franco Mercieca (above), who had been an MP in the first Joseph Muscat government, has also made a return, winning a seat on the 12th district which was vacated by Infrastructure Minister Jonathan Attard. Mercieca won this seat ahead of Deborah Schembri, Carlos Zarb, and Romilda Zarb.

Mercieca was not present at the Naxxar Counting Hall on Friday morning to see himself get elected as he was in the operating theatre, but he uploaded a short post on his Facebook page where he thanked the people for their faith in him.

“I can only reciprocate your love and respect with more work,” Mercieca said.

Former parliamentary secretary Andy Ellul (above) was the last to be elected from District 3, filling up the seat vacated by Foreign Minister Chris Fearne. Ellul started out this casual election with a 183-vote lead over fellow PL candidate Ray Abela, though this lead widened to 264 votes by the final count.

Through this result, Ray Abela is no longer an MP after now officially losing his place in Parliament.

Andy Ellul – who will fill Chris Fearne’s vacated District 3 parliamentary seat – was all smiles when he arrived at the Naxxar Counting Hall after the casual elections were completed. He told the media that he, together with his fellow PL MPs, look forward to working together in Parliament to implement the Labour Party’s Int Malta manifesto.

Ellul denied the notion that he is disappointed to enter this legislature as only a government backbencher, when he served the previous legislature as a Parliamentary Secretary and, temporarily, as Government Whip. He said that he can now use his time to practise as a lawyer and expressed great privilege to be re-elected once again.

Just this January, Andy Ellul, while serving as Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue, was given the entire housing portfolio following Roderick Galdes’ resignation as Housing Minister, though he was not promoted to be a minister in his own right after being given a ministerial portfolio.

“The fact that I have been elected on behalf of the Labour Party is the greatest honour I could be bestowed, together with my friends,” Ellul said.

When asked whether he would like to be entrusted as Government Whip once again, Ellul did not answer directly. He said that this falls under the Prime Minister’s prerogative and that he will leave it in his hands to decide, reiterating that he is ready to keep serving as an MP for the good of the country.