Women secure record election gains

Women elected on their own steam in the 2026 general election, secured 10 parliamentary seats with three of them having benefited from the gender mechanism four years ago.

The results suggest the mechanism has partially achieved its aim of helping more women enter politics and win seats on their own steam.

Among those making that case is Labour MP and Parliamentary Secretary Alicia Bugeja Said, who entered parliament through the mechanism in 2022, but won a district seat in her own right this year.

Speaking to MaltaToday, Bugeja Said argued that the system has encouraged more women to contest elections and helped increase female participation in political decision-making.

Ten women won 12 of the 67 parliamentary seats allocated during the initial count, more than doubling the result recorded at the same stage of the 2022 election. More could be elected in the coming weeks when casual elections take place.

In 2022, only four women were elected before casual elections and the gender corrective mechanism came into effect, marking a 20-year low for female representation.

The gender corrective mechanism is triggered when the under-represented sex makes up less than 40% of all seats in parliament after the election outcome is known. However, the mechanism only applies when two parties are elected to parliament.

This year’s result also saw women achieve breakthroughs that were absent in the previous election. Labour MP and Environment Minister Miriam Dalli became the only woman to top the poll in her district, a result that was absent from the 2022 election.

The election also marked a milestone for three women who entered parliament through the gender corrective mechanism in 2022. Eve Borg Bonello, Alicia Bugeja Said and Paula Mifsud Bonnici all won district seats in 2026 without relying on the mechanism.

Their victories reinforce arguments that the mechanism helped accelerate their parliamentary careers by providing an earlier opportunity to establish themselves politically.

At the same time, the increase in female representation has also coincided with a steady rise in the number of women contesting elections.

Women candidates accounted for 29.2% of all candidates in 2026, up from 24.6% in 2022. This is a substantial improvement when you take into account it was just 11.1% in 2008. 

However, former MEP Marlene Mizzi criticised the gender mechanism when reflecting on the election result. She said it was “uncalled for and unfair on the electorate.” She argued that it undermined women’s competence.

In contrast, academic Carmen Sammut, who had captained the reform argued in a post on social media that the mechanism helped increase representation, and encouraged parties to field more female candidates. “Let us remember that women’s electoral success does not happen in a vacuum: Advancements and failures cannot be linked to the mechanism alone.”

Bugeja Said told this paper that women’s participation in political decision-making is essential. “The role of women in decision-making roles is important and the government is no exception,” she said, noting that her experience working in the male-dominated fisheries and agriculture sectors helped her overcome barriers, including those imposed by gender.

Bugeja Said argued that the gender corrective mechanism had encouraged more women to enter politics, saying she was satisfied that 40% of Labour’s candidates were women. She also highlighted that the number of women elected on first-count votes had more than doubled compared to 2022.

“I feel that people do not hesitate to vote for female candidates, yet the gender corrective mechanism is contributing to added female participation in the elections,” she said.

While acknowledging that some MPs may feel stigmatised for entering parliament through the quota, Bugeja Said added that representatives should focus on their work and results. “Ultimately the difference you leave in people’s lives is not marked by the manner a member of parliament is elected,” she said.