Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1440477
8 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 JANUARY 2022 Abela's co-options: Widening the talent WHEN an MP resigns from parliament, his or her re- placement is normally found through a casual election in which district votes in the pre- vious election are re-opened and the candidate inheriting most votes through the Single Transferable Vote system is elected. But co-options which see the replacement handpicked by the party's leadership are possible in three circumstances, name- ly: when the MP who resigned had been elected in a casual election; when all possible re- placements who previously contested the district have al- ready been elected to parlia- ment or are no longer eligible; or when none of the candidates eligible to contest a casual elec- tion actually present their can- didature to the electoral com- mission. Giving up a life dream These legal provisions made co-options rare simply because few candidates would miss on their once-in-a-lifetime chance of becoming MPs. Any candi- date on the list, even those with a minimal number of votes, could thwart any attempt to avoid a casual election. One clear-cut way of co-opt- ing a new MP is when they are chosen to replace someone elected in a casual election. For example, Energy Minister Mir- iam Dalli found her way into parliament as a replacement for backbencher Etienne Grech, who resigned inexplicably in what was widely interpreted as a shrewd move by Robert Ab- ela to inject new blood in his government. Jonathan Attard was also co-opted following Manuel Mallia's appointment as British High Commissioner. But party leaders can also ex- ploit a significant 'loophole' by persuading all party candidates eligible to contest a particular seat not to present their can- didature, thus paving the way for a candidate handpicked by the party leadership. Yet this depends on the willingness of all those involved cooperating with the leadership by giving up on a lifelong dream. And it come at a cost for those who renounce a possible seat, even expecting a reward for their loyalty. This was the case in the elec- tion of Finance Minister Clyde Caruana who was co-opted to parliament after the only two eligible Labour candidates from the second district, name- ly Stefan Buontempo and Mark Causon, failed to submit their nomination in a casual election after the resignation of Joseph Muscat from MP. It was also the case with Andy Ellul, who was coopted after none of the five remaining Labour candi- dates from the third district, including Marsaskala mayor Mario Calleja presented their candidature. A mockery of democracy? In the absence of the full co- operation of all candidates, a co-option may still take place after the candidate who gets elected in the casual election immediately renounces his seat. Yet this is where things can get messy. For example, Oli- ver Scicuna's co-option in 2021 was only made possible after the immediate resignation of Gavin Gulia, who was elected in a casual election forced on the party after its former Rabat mayor Charles Azzopardi later defected to the PN, refusing to renounce his candidature in the casual election. This made Gavin Gulia's tenure one of the shortest ever in the history of the republic, and one which made a mockery of the dem- ocratic process. In this case the public outrage was only defused by the choice of a re- spectable candidate like Sciclu- na. Yet this was not without prec- edent from the other side of the Rubicon. Back in 2017 Adrian Delia's path to parliament up- on his election as party leader was only made possible by the resignation of close ally Jean Pierre Debono, which trig- gered a casual election which resulted in the election of Peter Micallef who immediately gave up his seat to trigger Delia's co-option. Delia's convoluted pathway to parliament was dictated by Marlene Farrugia's Democrat- ic Party's stubborn refusal to withdraw its candidates who had contested on a joint PN- PD platform, from contesting the casual election. Widening the talent pool: technocrats While co-options have been a rare but acceptable feature of democratic life in Maltese pol- itics, the co-option of five new Robert Abela is not inventing the wheel by resorting to co-options for fresh blood in his parliamentary group. But does it betray a more presidential style of government in which handpicked MPs are more accountable to the leader than to voters, asks James Debono Clyde Caruana Jonathan Attard Oliver Scicluna Andy Ellul Miriam Dalli