Carmelo Abela Elected Speaker as New Malta Parliament Opens

Malta's new Parliament held its first sitting following the 2026 general election on Friday morning, with Carmelo Abela unanimously elected Speaker of the House of Representatives and Bernard Grech sworn in as Deputy Speaker. The day opened at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, where Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Galea Curmi celebrated the traditional mass that precedes each new parliamentary term.

Among those present were Robert Abela and Alex Borg, leading their respective sides, along with MPs and their spouses or partners, former presidents and prime ministers, the Chief Justice and members of the judiciary, and the diplomatic corps. MPs then processed along Republic Street to Parliament, where formal business began. Abela's election as Speaker was the first item of business and went through without opposition, ending Anglu Farrugia's 13-year tenure across three legislatures.

In his inauguration address, Abela thanked his predecessor and set out the principles he intends to uphold from the chair: respect, free speech, justice, truth, and dignity. "We should work in the spirit of an institution so that Parliament does not get weakened, but rather becomes stronger than ever," he told the chamber. Grech, nominated by the Opposition, was sworn in as Deputy Speaker and pledged to work alongside Abela to reinforce democratic governance.

With the presiding officers confirmed, Parliament moved to its swearing-in sequence. Prime Minister Abela and Opposition Leader Borg took their oaths ahead of the remaining MPs from both sides. President Myriam Spiteri Debono was then scheduled to address Parliament, delivering the government's programmatic statement for the incoming legislature.

Both parliamentary groups had been formally constituted before Friday's session through casual elections and the gender quota mechanism, so the full composition of each bench was settled from the outset. Abela's move to the Speaker's chair vacates his seat on the 3rd district. A casual election to fill the vacancy is scheduled for Friday, 26 June.