The party’s executive committee yesterday first decided that the person who will be co-opted to replace Josef Bonnici, who resigned his post to join the EU’s Auditors Commission, should come from the same district relinquished by Prof. Bonnici, that is the 11th District.

The committee subsequently decided that the person who will be co-opted will be unelected PN candidate in that district psychiatrist Dr Joe Cassar.

Dr Cassar, 38, hails from Rabat, from a well-established family of doctors. He is married to Anna and has two children: Fabrizia and Rebecca.

After graduating from Malta he studied at Yale University.

There was intense lobbying inside the party before yesterday’s decision with many unelected candidates from other districts trying to get the co-option opened up to other districts.

But the party leadership, especially deputy leader Tonio Borg and secretary general Joe Saliba, expressed their opinion that the co-option must come from the same district.

At the end, 32 members of the committee voted in favour of choosing the new MP from the district, and 24 voted against, sources said.