Prime minister mulls Cabinet formation

Prime Minister Robert Abela is still evaluating his possibilities for the formation of Cabinet with no movement reported at Castille by Tuesday afternoon.

Abela was sworn in as prime minister on Monday and has spent Tuesday at Castille with his advisers as he mulls the appointment of ministers for the new legislature.

Labour secured a comfortable victory in Saturday's general election, obtaining 51.8% of the vote and a five-seat majority in parliament. The composition of parliament is not yet fully known since casual elections still have to take place to fill the seats vacated by candidates elected on two districts. After this process, the gender corrective mechanism will kick in to elect a further 12 female MPs--six to either side.

However, Abela is likely to start forming the Cabinet before the conclusion of these processes, with the possibility of reserving some portfolios for MPs who get elected through casual elections.

Some of Abela's key ministers from the previous legislature and which were elected on two districts are frontrunners to occupy ministerial posts. The key question here is whether Abela will seek continuity of portfolios or change course. This will be one of several considerations the prime minister will make when choosing his ministerial team and drafting the portfolios. Another key consideration is the electoral strength of individual candidates and the geographical distribution of ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

Who are the frontrunners for Cabinet?

While Prime Minister Robert Abela is expected to balance political considerations, experience and regional representation when choosing his Cabinet, the election result provides a strong indication of which MPs could be frontrunners.

On the 1 District, Keith Azzopardi Tanti emerged as the standout performer, securing 5,068 first-count votes, making him one of Labour's strongest performers nationwide after the prime minister.

The 2 District saw Clyde Caruana, who was finance minsiter in the last legislature, elected after inheriting 3,388 votes from Abela, finishing with 4,215 votes on the second count. Caruana was also elected comfortably on the 8 District. Former parliamentary secretaries Glenn Bedingfield and Alison Zerafa Civelli also performed strongly on the 2 District.

Chris Fearne, who before resigning from Cabinet, was deputy prime minister and health minister, dominated the 3 and 4 districts. He secured 3,341 first-count votes on the 3 District and 3,750 on the 4 District, making him the most popular Labour candidate on both. On the 3 District, he outperformed outgoing ministers Chris Bonett and Owen Bonnici, while former minister Carmelo Abela also registered a strong showing with 2,436 first-count votes.

On the 4 District, Byron Camilleri who was home affairs minister, and former justice minister Jonathan Attard also recorded solid results. Attard was also elected on the 12 District.

A surprise performer on the 5 District was former parliamentary secretary Omar Farrugia, who secured 2,028 first-count votes, an impressive result given the presence of Robert Abela on Labour's list. Outgoing Energy Minister Miriam Dalli placed third on the first count in this district but was elected. Dalli was also elected on the 11 District.

On the 6 District, Ian Borg who will be deputy prime minister, was the clear frontrunner with 4,588 first-count votes.Silvio Schembri who in the last legislature was economy minister, followed with 3,051 votes, while Rosianne Cutajar placed third with 2,692 votes. Despite being repeatedly praised by Abela during the campaign, Schembri was elected from only one district.

Borg also dominated the 7 District, securing 5,520 first-count votes. He was followed by Malcolm Paul Agius Galea on 2,378 votes, while Julia Farrugia finished third with 1,757 votes.

Clyde Caruana once again emerged as Labour's strongest candidate on the 8 District, where he secured 4,948 first-count votes, while on the 9 and 10 districts, Clifton Grima and Michael Falzon maintained their dominance.

The 11 District was topped by Miriam Dalli, who secured 3,827 first-count votes, with Anthony Agius Decelis coming second with 2,330 votes to make it back to parliament after a four-year lapse.

Jonathan Attard was the leading Labour candidate on the 12 District with 2,885 first-count votes. He was followed by Alicia Bugeja Said on 1,440 votes, who this time around was elected on her own steam and not through the gender corrective mechanism.

The 13 District proved to be one of Labour's most fiercely contested battlegrounds, with three ministers competing for support. Clint Camilleri who was Gozo minister emerged as the clear frontrunner with 6,020 first-count votes, making him the highest scoring after the prime minister. He was followed by Anton Refalo and Jo Etienne Abela.

More to follow.