Twelve women enter parliament through gender mechanism as casual elections conclude

Twelve women will enter parliament through the gender corrective mechanism after the conclusion of the casual elections.

Six candidates from the Labour Party will enter parliament through the mechanism: Cressida Galea, Fleur Abela, Francesca Zarb, Yana Borg Debono Grech, Deborah Schembri and Romilda Zarb, while six candidates from the Nationalist Party will also take seats through the same system: Bernice Bonello, Julie Zahra, Norma Camilleri, Annabelle Cilia, Marilena Gauci and Miriana Calleja Testaferrata De Noto.

The gender corrective mechanism, introduced to address the under-representation of women in parliament, is triggered when the proportion of female MPs elected falls below a constitutionally set threshold. It then allocates additional seats to ensure a minimum level of female representation across both parties.

This year’s election saw an unprecedented number of women elected, with a total of 10 securing seats in parliament. Four additional women were elected during the Labour Party casual election last week, with a single female candidate elected during the Nationalist Party casual election on Tuesday.

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

Women candidates accounted for 29.2% of all candidates in 2026, up from 24.6% in 2022. This is a substantial improvement when compared to 11.1% in 2008.