New PN candidates, Fenech Adami moved into ninth district

The former deputy leader of the Nationalist Party, Beppe Fenech Adami, has been moved into the ninth district in the wake of the withdrawal of Kristy Debono’s candidature.

Debono, who garnered well over 4,000 first-count votes in the ninth district of San Gwann, Swieqi, Madliena, Ta’ Xbiex, Għargħur, Msida, and Kappara, withdrew her candidature on the first day of the campaign.

The district will be quite ‘busy’ with incumbent Robert Arrigo, deputy leader for party affairs, who won 4,011 total votes, and joining the district for the first time are MPs Jason Azzopardi and Karol Aquilina, and new candidate Joe Giglio. 6PM director and entrepreneur Ivan J. Bartolo will also contest the 9th, as well as the 12th district.

Fenech Adami, son of erstwhile prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami, will not contest the seventh district this time around. In 2017 he garnered 2,195 first-count votes in the constituency of Rabat, Ħaż-Żebbuġ, Ħad-Dingli, Mġarr, Mtarfa, and Baħrija. He was elected there with 3,792 votes.

And in his traditional ‘home’ eighth district – Ħal Balzan, Birkirkara, Iklin, Lija, Fleurs de Lys, and Swatar – which he will be contesting on, he had obtained 6,484 first-count votes, elected on the first count.

Back in 2017, Fenech Adami was deputy leader for party affairs of the PN. This time around, he is joined on the eighth district by former PN leader Adrian Delia, where a contest for PN votes between the two rivals will no doubt ensue.

Indeed, the eighth district will lack candidates such as Therese Comodini Cachia, the former MEP who was elected second from all PN candidates with 4,244 votes; while PN deputy leader for parliamentary affairs David Agius might be expected to perform better over his 2017 votes, where he was elected with 4,210.

The PN yesterday also approved four new candidates for the 26 March general elections: lawyer Mary Muscat, a former spokesperson for the police force, on the third electoral district, which saw the departure of incumbent MP Mario Galea; TV sports presenter Christian Micallef on the first district, here too lacking the candidature of incumbent Claudio Grech; Frederick Aquilina, an accountant, on the sixth district, which saw the departure of incumbent Clyde Puli; and Josianne Cardona Gatt on the first and eighth districts.

The PN’s executive committee has also announced it has formally approved the party election manifesto.