Election History Bites | Most elected candidates

Dom Mintoff holds the undisputed record of being elected 14 times to parliament with his first successful run happening in 1945. He was elected in each of the subsequent elections until his final contest in 1996 at the age of 80, when he was elected on the 2nd District with 6,208 votes.

Mintoff’s last legislature was, however, short-lived when he voted against his own government in a motion of confidence, forcing then Prime Minister Alfred Sant to call an early election in 1998.

Mintoff served as prime minister after the 1955 election and later in 1971, 1976 and 1981. In 1984, Mintoff stepped down as prime minister and Malta Labour Party leader but retained his parliamentary seat. He continued to be a candidate for the MLP in subsequent elections until 1996.

In joint second place with 10 successful elections under their belt are Agatha Barbara, who later served as president, former Nationalist Prime Minister George Borg Olivier and former Labour deputy leader Guże Cassar.

Barbara was first elected in 1947, when she became the first woman to become a member of parliament, and continued to be elected in every election after that until 1981. Two months after successfully contesting the 1981 election, Barbara had to give up her seat after she was appointed president.

Borg Olivier was first elected in 1939 and later in 1947, after which he had a successful uninterrupted run until 1976. During this period, Borg Olivier was leader of the Nationalist Party and as prime minister, oversaw Malta’s transition to an independent state in 1964.

Cassar was first elected in 1945 and every election after that until 1955. He was then re-elected again in 1971 and every subsequent election until his final successful run in 1987.

Next in line with nine electoral successes under their belt are: Paul Boffa, former Labour and Malta Workers’ Party leader, Nationalist minister Carmelo Caruana, and former Labour ministers Joe Debono Grech and Karmenu Vella.

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