ADPD candidate Brian Decelis to leave party after election results

ADPD candidate Brian Decelis has announced he will be leaving the party following his results in the 2026 general election.

"I still believe in politics. But as we saw yesterday, Malta prefers to stick to one of the biggest parties," he said when speaking to MaltaToday.

He said that after three election rounds, he wishes to step back to spend more time with his family. Decelis added that ADPD's results were poor both at the party level and on a personal basis, with his combined vote tally across the two districts he contested down by 251 votes, roughly a third of the total votes ADPD lost.

He also pointed to the rise of Momentum, which in a matter of months managed to match and then surpass ADPD's results, as a sign that the party's brand of green politics was not gaining enough traction.

Decelis contested two districts in the election. In District 3, he received 258 first-count votes and was eliminated on the eighth count with 280 votes. In District 4, he received 260 first-count votes and was eliminated on the sixth count, also with 280 votes.

His performance this year fell short of his 2022 showing. In District 3, he had received 378 first-count votes four years ago. In District 4, he had contested alongside Carmel Cacopardo, with the pair obtaining a combined 391 first-count votes in that election.

Decelis, who also served as ADPD's public relations officer, said the commitment had taken its toll on his family and that he had given up hobbies due to the demands of political life. He thanked the media for its coverage, saying journalists had served as a vital link between ADPD and its electorate.

This comes after ADPD leader Sandra Gauci said that she will call it a day as leader of the green party.

In a video posted on Instagram Sunday night, Gauci expressed her satisfaction with her outcome and believed her candidacy was positively received.

“They say you should leave at the top, and that’s 99% what I’m going to do,” she said, thanking her followers for supporting her throughout the campaign, and she said she hopes to see more women in politics moving forward.

Gauci also pointed out that ADPD and Momentum together received around 8,000 first-count votes.

“The third-party voice is getting stronger with time,” she said.