PN deputy leader election between 29 November and 2 December

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said nominations for the election of the Nationalist Party deputy leader will be received from Wednesday 30 October until 14 November. He explained that the first round of the ballot will be held between 29 November and 2 December.

Addressing the press outside the PN headquarters following an Executive meeting on Monday evening, the PN leader said that if the election will require a second ballot, this will be held on another day.

Francis Zammit Dimech will head the electoral commission which will be composed of Anne Fenech, MEP David Casa, Boris Xerri, Sonia Vancell and Kevin Plumpton. This automatically rules out the candidature of Nationalist MP Zammit Dimech, who was being touted as a possible outsider.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi wants a lively contest for the post of deputy leadership after nominating foreign minister and deputy prime minister Tonio Borg to the European Commission in the aftermath of the John Dalli resignation.

There is no doubt that Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil, a force to be reckoned within the European People's Party group in Brussels and the Nationalists's golden boy, is the favourite for the post of deputy leader.

And Gonzi has made no secret of it: after 'winning' the one-man leadership contest he put himself through in February, he anointed Busuttil as his special delegate to civil society - employing a new sidekick for his personalised outreach campaign with social partners and other stakeholders.

All this ceremonialism for the advent of Busuttil to the party leadership - if he does make it to the coveted post - has left a bitter taste for some of the hopefuls to the position.

Small business minister Jason Azzopardi has already ruled himself out of the contest and other possible contenders such as tourism minister Mario de Marco, justice minister Chris Said, finance minsiter Tonio Fenech and MP Beppe Fenech Adami could follow suit.

This would however lead to a coronation of Simon Busuttil as deputy leader. However, with the PN lagging behind the Labour Party by 12 points in the polls, contenders might have second thoughts about heading the party to a possible hammering and being identified with an electoral slaughter.

Gonzi was appointed deputy leader in 1999 and consequently won the leadership contest five years later. The new deputy leader will not automatically succeed Gonzi, yet whoever will be appointed will only be one step away from the golden chalice.

The new deputy leader will have an edge, thanks to his advantageous position, when it comes to laying a claim for the party leadership. On the other hand, any attempt by the party to anoint a new leader does not necessarily bide well for the new deputy leader.

In recent political history, Malta had two anointed leaders: Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici and Lawrence Gonzi himself, and both had a troubled time at the helm of the party and the country. 

The PN deputy leadership election is regulated by the same rules that apply to the election of the party leader. As in the case of the leadership election, the PN deputy leader is chosen by the party's 900-strong general council, which in the main is composed of Gonzi loyalists.

The winning candidate needs a two-thirds majority of all votes cast by the councillors. This also applies if there is only one contestant in the race.

Anyone can contest the deputy leadership election as long as the nomination is signed by 10 regular paid members, of which at least three have to be either members of the party's executive or parliamentary group. The statute does not explain whether a candidate has to be a party member or not, so in theory anyone can contest as long as the nomination is signed by ten party members and accompanied by a signed declaration from the candidate.

Nominations must be submitted within two months from the call. In the last leadership contest held in February 2012, the election was held less then a month after Gonzi called for a leadership contest.

If more than one person contests the deputy leadership race and nobody obtains the two-thirds majority of votes cast, multiple elections are held in order to narrow the field down to two candidates, by eliminating the candidate with the lowest number of votes each time.