Labour faces casual election headache on 7th District in new year

An election candidate the Labour Party subsequently disowned could be the front runner to fill in the seat that Edward Scicluna will vacate on the 7th District.

Former Rabat mayor Charles Azzopardi is one of three Labour candidates who can contest the upcoming casual election in what could be an embarrassing moment for the PL.

Azzopardi was not allowed by the PL to contest the 2019 local elections on its behalf following allegations of corruption and nepotism when he was mayor. No charges have ever been filed against him despite a police investigation into the claims.

It remains unclear whether Azzopardi will submit his nomination for the casual election, which he is well placed to win.

Given that his name was on the general election ballot, the party cannot stop Azzopardi from contesting the casual election and if elected he could be joining Konrad Mizzi, Marlene Farrugia and Godfrey Farrugia as an independent.

Attempts to contact Azzopardi have so far proved futile.

The casual election is expected to happen in January after Scicluna was today formally appointed Central Bank of Malta governor. His appointment starts on 1 January and his resignation from parliament is expected in the coming days.

Pullicino Orlando to contest, Gulia non-committal

The other two Labour candidates on the district are former minister and current Malta Tourism Authority chair, Gavin Gulia and former PN MP and current chair at the Malta Council for Science and Technology, Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando.

Pullicino Orlando defected to Labour after 2013 and eventually contested the 2017 general election as a Labour candidate.
Pullicino Orlando said he would “definitely” contest the casual election. “Yes, I will definitely contest and I am being encouraged to do so,” he told MaltaToday on Tuesday.

Gulia was less forthcoming, insisting he had not yet made up his mind. “When the casual election is formally announced, I will think about it then,” he said.