Gozitan lawyer Joe Ellis wins casual election for seat vacated by Frederick Azzopardi

The lawyer Joseph Ellis has won a casual election for the 13th district seat that was vacated after the death of Nationalist MP Frederick Azzopardi.

In the last general election, Azzopardi was elected on the basis of a corrective mechanism that granted two extra seats to the PN.

The election was contested by Joseph Ellis, who won by 1,968 votes, Censu Galea, Ryan Mercieca, Maria Portelli and Jason Zammit. The quota was 1,793.

The Nationalist Party disassociated itself from Ryan Mercieca over the weekend, but he defied party instructions and is contesting as an independent candidate

The Nationalist Party disassociated itself from Ryan Mercieca over the last weekend over reports linking him to an NGO finance ruse. But Mercieca defied party instructions and contested as an independent candidate. A win for Mercieca would have cost the PN a parliamentary seat. He obtained 868 seats.

Ellis is also a lawyer who represents the Ramblers Association.