Jason Micallef withdraws from deputy leadership race; Agius Saliba may contest if statute changes

Updated at 6:20pm with Jason Micallef statement

Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba might be one of the contenders for his party’s deputy leader party affairs post, after stating that he will fully support a change in party statute allowing MPs and MEPs to contest the position.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Agius Saliba said that, in the interest of keeping the Labour Party open to all, he would support a third change in statute that would re-allow MPs and MEPs to contest the role of deputy leader for party affairs within his party.

“This was a common message that I heard from party delegates in the coming days, who also asked me to involve myself more directly within the Labour Party, as I had done even as President of the Forum Żgħażagħ Laburista,” he said.

Meanwhile, Labour's former secretary-general Jason Micallef announced that he will withdraw his nomination for the deputy leadership after meeting with Agius Saliba, who he described as an old friend, and Prime Minister Robert Abela.

The Labour Party executive will be meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss a proposal to change the party statute, which will require an extraordinary general meeting to be held before 23 August, the day nominations open for the contest.

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