Historic result as Godfrey Farrugia is second PD candidate elected to Parliament
● PN newcomers sweep casual elections
PD MP and former PL Whip Godfrey Farrugia was yesterday elected to Parliament, making him the second MP from the PD to be elected this campaign.
The PD MPs, while having contested on the PN ticket and saying that they will form part of the Opposition Parliamentary Group, are both part of a third party.
This is the first time since the 1960s that a third party is represented in Parliament.
Godfrey Farrugia contested on the seventh district, a seat ceded by PN Deputy Leader Beppe Fenech Adami.
The Casual election saw a number of surprise candidates elected, including Siggiewi mayor Karol Aquilina and Naxxar mayor Maria Deguara, while at the same time seeing some veterans not re-elected.
Godfrey Farrugia, speaking with this newsroom after his election, said that he has no regrets about his campaign.
“I had a campaign which lasted 11 days. Seven weeks ago I was government’s whip in a previous legislature. Now I am on the Opposition’s bench and with my experience in Parliament I am sure I will continue to deliver for the good of the country and for the good of the people.”
Farrugia had left the Labour Party just before the elections, and joined the PD for the elections.
Asked about how he feels, having been in the PL Parliamentary group last legislature and now being in the Opposition Parliamentary group, he said: “I have many people to thank. It feels different in the sense that I can bring more political consensus, it makes a difference in the sense that we can humanise politics. More than anything else, I would say that I stand for political correctness – especially when it comes to governance - and the right to life. I will ensure I deliver on these two principles. In the name of those persons who believe in these values and principles. More than anything else, this is a seat that will represent the people. I will be ready to listen as I always have. I am ready to analyse and, more than anything else to be the voice of the people.”
Asked whether he is concerned about the 35,000 vote difference between the PL and the PN-PD coalition, he said this was the people’s choice. “I respect that and we need to continue to work hard on what the people have chosen.”
There was a bit of concern early on in the counting process on the seventh district. After the first count, it was noticed that 500 votes obtained by Beppe Fenech Adami on the seventh district were unaccounted for. They were later found among the lot obtained by another PN elected candidate, Jean Pierre Debono, in what seems to have been a mistake.
Once the “missing” votes were added to the lot, Godfrey Farrugia went into the lead on 1,039 votes after the first count, followed by Sam Abela on 652. Farrugia obtained more than 400 from the 500 votes that had been missing (as they were votes which he had passed on to Beppe Fenech Adami during the elections). This result saw Antoine Borg not re-elected to Parliament.
The rest of the seats were all taken by PN newcomers, and some veterans failed to get elected. Former PN MPs George Pullicino, Antoine Borg and Censu Galea were not elected. Francis Zammit Dimech did not contest as he will contest the MEP elections for Therese Comodini Cachia’s seat.
The 10th district saw Karol Aquilina take the seat ceded by PN MP Robert Arrigo. Aquilina was not really in the running until Alan Abela Wadge dropped on the sixth count, and 431 of those votes were transferred to Aquilina. It became a close race between PN veteran George Pullicino and Aquilina, however this race saw Aquilina prevail.
In comments to the media, Aquilina thanked the people who voted for him, saying that his election to parliament will mean that he will relinquish his position as Siggiewi mayor. He said he is surprised that he was elected from this district, and not his home district, but said that this is the way that the Maltese election system works.
The 11th district saw two seats contested. The first seat was ceded by PN Leader Simon Busuttil. Ivan Bartolo was elected in the casual election. Bartolo started with a solid lead with 1,122 votes after the first count, followed by Alex Perici Calascione on 893. Bartolo increased his lead in subsequent counts until be surpassed the quota on 1,993. In comments after the election, the Mosta mayor said he will remain close to the people.
The second seat, ceded by David Agius went to Maria Deguara, wife of former PN health minister Louis Deguara. This means that a total of ten women were elected to Parliament. While the ratio of men to women in Parliament is still low, this was actually quite high for Maltese elections.