Myriam Spiteri Debono to be nominated president today
The nomination motion proposing Myriam Spiteri Debono as Malta’s next president will be moved in parliament today, the Labour and Nationalist parliamentary groups said in a joint statement yesterday.
The two groups met separately yesterday to formally agree on her nomination.
Times of Malta revealed last week that the prime minister and the leader of the opposition had agreed that Spiteri Debono would be the country’s next president.
A notary by profession, Spiteri Debono was Speaker of the House of Representatives during the short term of Alfred Sant’s government between 1996 and 1998.
She was previously president of the women’s section of the Labour Party and is widely viewed as a moderate. In 2021, she paid tribute to murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in a speech given during Victory Day celebrations, calling on the nation to “redeem ourselves anew” and commit to necessary reform in the wake of the assassination.
The two political parties also agreed on Francis Zammit Dimech as acting president whenever the need arises.
A former Nationalist MP, minister and MEP, he spent three decades in prominent political roles. Considered a moderate, Zammit Dimech is a lawyer by profession and lectures at the University of Malta.
The acting president steps into the role when the president is abroad or indisposed. However, that post is not tied to a parliamentary vote.
Following constitutional amendments made in 2020, the president can only be appointed by a majority of at least two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives. All 10 presidential appointments to date had only needed a simple majority.
The role of the president, as head of State, is largely ceremonial but the president needs to sign acts of parliament before they can become law. In terms of the recent constitutional amendments, it is also the president who selects and appoints the members of the judiciary after a shortlist is handed to the Office by a selection committee.
The president serves for five years and the term cannot be renewed.
The swearing-in of the next president will take place on April 4.