Myriam Spiteri Debono, a notary and former parliamentary speaker, is set to become the 11th President of Malta on 4 April. 

Appointing the next president appeared an impossible task until a couple of weeks ago, as the appointment required a two-thirds majority in parliament instead of a simple majority, as in previous years. 

Only four women were elected to Parliament in Malta’s general election, down from the eight female MPs elected in 2017.

If, once the casual elections are held to replace candidates who were elected on two districts, the number of women does not make up 40% of the total number of seats, the gender mechanism approved in the past legislature will be triggered to appoint up to a total of 12 women to complete the line-up of both sides of the House.

The court has turned down a constitutional case filed by independent candidate Arnold Cassola against government over the gender corrective mechanism approved by parliament last April.

Cassola had argued constitutional amendments approved in parliament are discriminatory in favour of “PNPL women” and against all other women who are not affiliated to one of the two big parties. “Worse than that, it is an insult jointly concocted by the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party,” Cassola had said.

Equality Parliamentary Secretary Rosianne Cutajar closes the Second Reading debate on the gender corrective mechanism.

A corrective electoral mechanism to boost the number of women MPs has cleared the second stage in parliament with support from both sides of the House.

Legal experts have voiced fears that gender quota proposals aimed at increasing female participation in Parliament are nothing but a “smokescreen” to introduce political party funding by the State “by stealth”.

The proposals, which were presented by Parliamentary Secretary for Reform and Simplification of Administrative Processes, Julia Farrugia Portelli, in March, would see the female gender representation in Parliament increased to 40 per cent through the addition of 12 extra seats.

The Maltese state will fund political parties to recruit, promote and train female candidates as part of a plan launched by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat unveiled.

“Legal amendments are being proposed for the Financing of Political Parties Act to open the way for state funds that can be used to recruit, promote and train candidates pertaining to the under-represented sex,” the policy document reads.