Five candidates vying for vacant Parliamentary seat

Five candidates have submitted their nomination to fill in the vacant seat on the eighth district, following newly appointed EU Commissioner Tonio Borg's resignation from Parliament.

The Electoral Commission said that the election to fill in the seat vacated by Tonio Borg is planned for Wednesday 5 December at the Naxxar Trade Fair Grounds.

With the first budget vote earmarked for Monday 10 December, Parliament could be dissolved next week if Nationalist MP Franco Debono follows through with his consistent threats to vote against the budget. Once Parliament is dissolved, the Prime Minister is granted a minimum 5-week window and a maximum of three months to hold an election. The current legislature's natural lifespan comes to an end in August 2013.

Lija mayor Ian Castaldi Paris threw his name in the hat on Monday, the last day nominations could be submitted. Despite earlier declarations that he would be putting his locality's interests first, it seems that Castaldi Paris had a change of heart and decided to submit his name in the last minute.

Castaldi Paris joined Michael Asciak, Martin Fenech, Josianne Cardona Gatt and Mario Schembri, who had submitted their nomination last week. 

Former Nationalist MP Michael Asciak is in pole position to take Borg's seat as he obtained the fourth largest number of votes on the first count (564) followed by Martin Fenech (399), Ian Castaldi Paris (317), Josianne Cardona Gatt (160) and Mario Schembri (128).

The ultra-conservative Asciak had inherited the largest number of votes from Tonio Borg's first preferences and was the last candidate to be dropped before Beppe Fenech Adami took the last seat.

In casual elections, candidates must achieve 50% of the quota established in the election. The quota of the eighth district in 2008 was 3,750, meaning that in order to get elected a candidate must garner 1876 votes in a by-election.

In the eventuality that nobody reaches the quota or nobody submits a nomination, then the PN will co-opt somebody to fill in Tonio Borg's seat.

Following Simon Busuttil's victory in Friday's PN deputy leadership election the PN could decide to co-opt the MEP to Parliament.

However, facing the possibility of having Parliament dissolved on Monday 10 December the PN might decide against asking an MP to resign and pave the way for the popular MEP to take a seat in Parliament. 

The last MP to be co-opted was Labour leader Joseph Muscat who took up the seat voluntarily vacated by Joseph Cuschieri. The latter was later rewarded for his sacrifice by taking up the sixth Maltese seat in the European Parliament in 2011 after securing the sixth seat in the 2009 EP elections.

The first engineered election was that of former PL leader Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici who was co-opted to Parliament in May 1982 following the resignation of Paul Xuereb who had been elected MP via a casual election. Later that year his predecessor Dom Mintoff anointed him as designate-leader. Mifsud Bonnici went on to replace Mintoff at the helm of the country between 1984 and 1987.

Former Prime Ministers Eddie Fenech Adami and Alfred Sant were also co-opted to Parliament after the death of MPs who were elected through a casual election on their electoral district.