Labour Party candidate Gavin Gulia was elected on Tuesday to fill the seat vacated by Central Bank governor and former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna.

Gavin Gulia has served as Chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority since 2013. His duties included overseeing the regulation of tourism services and operations, however, following his successful bid for Parliament, Mr Gulia said that he will be resigning from the MTA.

Before taking his current post at Malta Tourism Authority, Mr Gulia has held positions serving as parliamentary secretary for the self-employed under Prime Minister Alfred Sant, and Justice Minister in January 1998. He held a seat in parliament from 1996-2013, and so re-enters as an experienced MP. He has also held honorary presidencies of Żebbuġ FC and St Philips Band Club, Żebbuġ.

Mr Gulia beat out candidates Charles Azzopardi and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando for the seat, winning most votes in both the first and second round of counting.

As reported by Malta Today, Mr Azzopardi was in pole position to win the casual election, and his defeat will likely be a relief to the Labour Party, as it was not clear if he would sit as an independent MP or ask to join the Nationalist Party Parliamentary Group.