The Partit Laburista has seen additional candidates come forward to contest casual elections being held to fill vacant seats in several local councils across Malta and Gozo, as the Electoral Commission continues to receive nominations following resignations and other vacancies among sitting councillors. Casual elections are triggered when an elected councillor resigns, passes away, or otherwise vacates their post before the end of the term, and the seat must be filled to ensure local councils continue to function with full representation. Under Maltese electoral law, if the vacancy occurs in a locality where the former councillor was elected on a party ticket, only unelected candidates from the same party who contested that locality in the last local council election are eligible to submit their nomination for the casual election.
In recent weeks, the Electoral Commission announced casual elections for localities including San Pawl il-Baħar following the resignation of Councillor Alfred Grima, and Il-Kalkara after the resignation of Councillor Nadine Micallef, both of whom were elected on the Labour Party ticket in the June 2024 local council elections. Nominations opened at the Electoral Commission’s offices in Naxxar and at the Identity Card Office in Victoria, Gozo, with candidates required to submit completed forms along with a €90 deposit, which is refunded if the candidate is elected or secures more than one-tenth of the quota. On the first day of nominations for San Pawl il-Baħar, Charles Victor Edward Cassar submitted his nomination for the PL vacancy, while no candidatures were received on the first day for Il-Kalkara.
The process reflects how casual elections allow parties to maintain their electoral mandate at local level without a full council election. If only one eligible candidate is nominated and approved, that person is declared elected unopposed once the nomination period closes. If more than one eligible candidate comes forward, a vote is held among the original electors of that locality using the single transferable vote preferences from the last election. The PL has historically used casual elections to ensure continuity in Labour-led councils, and the current wave of nominations comes as local councils handle ongoing projects and preparations for the upcoming term. The Electoral Commission publishes all nominations on its website and will confirm the final list of approved candidates once vetting is complete.
