Abigail Camilleri announces retirement from politics after failing to be re-elected

Gozitan politician Abigail Camilleri on Monday announced that her “political chapter ends here” after failing to get re-elected as a Member of Parliament.

She said that she looks back at her time in politics with great pride and thanked everyone who believed in her and supported her throughout her political journey.

In a brief message to her online followers, Camilleri said that she looked forward to this new chapter ahead with a sense of serenity.

Camilleri served one full legislature as an MP in the Parliament of Malta.

Camilleri was elected in 2022 via the gender corrective mechanism to give District 13 (Gozo) a sixth parliamentary seat.

This time round, given the number of total votes she and other women PL candidates attained, Camilleri is not posed to get herself re-elected through the gender quota. As things stand, six female candidates from the Labour Party – who were not elected on Sunday – are positioned to become MPs through this means: Ramona Attard, Cressida Galea, Rebecca Buttigieg, Fleur Abela, Francesca Zarb, and Yana Borg Debono Grech.

Ahead of Camilleri, though below these six candidate-elects, in the order upon which female PL candidates may be elected through the gender quota are Naomi Cachia, Deborah Schembri, Romilda Zarb, and Katya De Giovanni.

Camilleri’s retirement from politics means that barring any changes that may come during this coming legislature via resignations and co-options, the Labour Party will have one less seat in Gozo than it did in the previous four years. Decreasing its Gozitan share of seats from four to three, the PL’s Gozitan candidates are now secured by Clint Camilleri, Anton Refalo, and Jo Etienne Abela.

As an MP, Camilleri was in four Standing Committees within Parliament. Aside from being the chairperson of the Gozo Affairs Committee, Camilleri was also a member of the Parliament’s Education Committee, its Petitions Committee, and its Standing Committee on IT and AI Affairs.

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