Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando submits candidature for Scicluna casual election

Former Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando has submitted his nomination for the casual election to fill the 7th District seat vacated by Edward Scicluna.

The Malta Council for Science and Technology chairman will join former Labour MP Gavin Gulia, who currently chairs the Malta Tourism Authority, who filed his nomination on Friday.

Earlier this week, former Rabat mayor Charles Azzopardi submitted his nomination in what could turn out to be an embarrassing situation for the PL. Azzopardi contested the 2017 general election on the Labour ticket but in 2019 was stopped from contesting the Rabat local election after allegations of corruption.

He subsequently became a member of the Nationalist Party and also voted in the leadership election last October.

Azzopardi is in pole position to win the casual election but if elected It remains unclear whether he will sit as an independent or ask to join the PN parliamentary group. This would cut the PL's parliamentary majority to three seats.

The PL had kicked out Konrad Mizzi from its fold last year and he now sits as an independent in parliament although the former minister did pledge to continue supporting the government.

Pullicino Orlando is a former PN MP who eloped to Labour after falling out with the Gonzi administration in 2012. Pullicino Orlando contested the last election on the Labour ticket and currently chairs the Malta Council for Science and Technology.

The casual election was made necessary after Scicluna resigned from parliament when he was appointed governor of the Central Bank of Malta.