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9 maltatoday | TUESDAY • 26 MAY 2026 NEWS ELECTION 2026 Paradoxically work? Check out Kurt Sansone's Q&A herited before being eliminated, calculated as a percentage of the district quota. The rest of the extra seats are filled by working down the list. But what if there are no more women candidates to fill the extra seats? If no more women candidates are available to fill the extra seats, the political parties can opt for co-option to make up the difference. What is a co-option? A co-option happens when a vacated parliamentary seat can- not be filled by a casual election or any other mechanism dictat- ed at law. The party that has to fill the seat proposes the name of anyone it wants and parlia- ment votes to co-opt that per- son into the House. Over the years, several MPs were elect- ed in this way, including Eddie Fenech Adami in 1966 and in the 2017-2022 legislature, then Opposition leaders Adrian Delia and Bernard Grech, and min- isters Miriam Dalli and Clyde Caruana. What happens if after the 12 extra seats are awarded women MPs still do not make up at least 40% of parliamentary representation? No further adjustments will be done. The law caps the extra seats at 12 to avoid having the number of parliamentary seats explode unreasonably. One final question. What about gender-neutral candidates? The law also makes provisions for these people. Any candidate, who officially adopts the X gen- der marker will be considered as being part of the under-rep- resented sex and so eligible for the extra seats. ADPD calls for democratic control over Marsaskala's future on short-term rentals ADPD - The Green Party has called for stronger democratic controls over short-term rentals and speculative development, as it held a press con- ference in Marsascala to highlight concerns about the future of the former Jerma Palace Hotel. Marsascala resident and ADPD spokesperson Brian Decelis, a candidate for the third and fourth district, addressed a press conference next to St Thomas Tower, which stands in the shadow of the derelict Jerma Palace Hotel. He referred to a recent academic study, Tour- ism, Real Estate, and Urban Pressures: The Case of Marsascala, Malta, which introduces the con- cept of "real estateisation", a new phase in which coastal towns are increasingly driven by specu- lative development, investment apartments, and short-let platforms rather than by the needs of residents or sustainable tourism. "Residents have different opinions: they under- stand what is at stake," Decelis said. "Some want the return of a quality hotel that contributes to the local economy. Others fear another specu- lative mega-project that increases overdevelop- ment while offering little back to the community. Many are asking a fundamental question: who is Marsascala being developed for?" The debate surrounding the future of the Jerma site is not simply about a specific development project. It reflects a wider transformation taking place across Malta, where real estate speculation and short-term rentals are reshaping localities be- yond the traditional logic of tourism. The study shows how Marsascala has evolved from a fishing village into a densely urbanised lo- cality suffering from infrastructure strain, traffic congestion, pressure on public spaces and a de- clining quality of life. The proposed redevelop- ment of the Jerma site has become the clearest symbol of this conflict between community needs and speculative interests. ADPD believes this question deserves an answer in favour of long-term residents and future gen- erations, not speculative interests. The party has proposed giving local councils veto powers over permits for short-let accommodation, arguing that local communities understand their realities better than distant authorities or developers. It has also been proposed that tourism accom- modation revenues should go directly to local councils and infrastructure, so that communities are not left bearing the social and environmental costs alone. ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci said the par- ty's 2026 manifesto argues for a new economic model based on quality of life, environmental protection, affordable housing, stronger planning regulation and community-centred development rather than endless construction. "Marsascala needs more public open spaces, safer mobility, protection of its coastline, and planning policies that respect carrying capacity. It does not need more speculation disguised as progress," she said. Gauci said the current political establishment had normalised a system in which every availa- ble space is viewed as a development opportunity and every locality as a market to be monetised. The consequences, she said, are visible every- where: rising rents, worsening traffic, disappear- ing community identity and growing frustration among residents. "A vote for ADPD is a clear message that Mal- ta's localities are not for sale, that communities matter more than speculative profit, and that res- idents deserve a voice in decisions affecting their towns and villages. Sustainable development must finally replace the politics of overdevelop- ment," she said. She concluded that Marsascala deserves a future built around people, heritage, and quality of life, not around the endless expansion of the real es- tate machine. JULIANA ZAMMIT jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt Sandra Gauci and Brian Decelis