Malta’s reputation in Brussels of being a male-dominated country may soon change: three women stand a good chance of filling the seats vacated by MEPs who have now been elected to the Maltese Parliament.

Malta is the only member state with an all-male MEP delegation.

According to law, no one may be a member of both the European and Maltese parliaments. Those elected to both positions have to renounce one of them within five days of the publication of the official results of an election.

Newly elected MPs Simon Busuttil and Louis Grech, the PN’s and PL’s deputy leaders respectively, have declared they will be resigning as MEPs to take up their seats in the Maltese Parliament. Labour’s Edward Scicluna is expected to do the same.

The three vacant MEP seats, of Malta’s quota of six, will have to be filled through casual elections. According to initial calculations, three women may be propelled to the prestigious posts.

For the PN, the most likely candidate to replace Dr Busuttil is Roberta Tedesco Triccas, who is already in Brussels serving in the EU’s Foreign Policy Department.

She may yet be thwarted by former trade unionist Rudolf Cini, whose name comes before hers in alphabetical order on the ballot sheet.

On the Labour Party’s side, two of the four seats it occupies in Brussels will be up for grabs.

The most likely to join the other MEPs Joseph Cuschieri and John Attard Montalto are former Sea Malta boss Marlene Mizzi and Claudette Abela Baldacchino, Joseph Muscat’s ex-assistant and a former journalist.

However, eurosceptic Sharon Ellul Bonici stands an outside chance of winning one of the seats.

The possible new scenario of a half-female Maltese MEP contingent may only last for a year, however – the next MEP elections are due to be held in May 2014.

Although it is still too early to speculate, many from among the Labour and Nationalist ranks may set their sights on the lucrative job of MEP, including unsuccessful general election candidates or even sitting MPs.