Parliament will on Wednesday vote to appoint the auditor general and his deputy, a decision that requires two-thirds majority approval of the House of Representatives.

The vote will bring to an end more than one year of controversy over the appointments, as the opposition has taken this amount of time to accept the nominations made by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi in the previous term.

Last July, Dr Gonzi had nominated Anthony Mifsud as auditor general and Charles Deguara as deputy auditor general, but former Opposition Leader Alfred Sant had not given his consent.

Last Monday, Dr Gonzi had brought the subject back up in a letter he sent in reply to another he had received from Labour leader Joseph Muscat. A day later, Dr Muscat wrote back saying that the MLP agreed with the nominations.

Parliament is now expected to endorse the new appointments on Wednesday. Two-thirds of the House needs to vote in favour, which means 46 of the 69 MPs need to be present for the vote to pass.

Mr Mifsud is currently the permanent secretary at the Resources and Rural Affairs Ministry. He was previously occupying the same role in the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry led by Ninu Zammit.

The Resources and Rural Affairs Ministry, led by George Pullicino, which now incorporates Mr Zammit’s portfolio, has another permanent secretary, Chris Ciantar. Mr Mifsud will therefore not necessarily be replaced.

Mr Deguara, who is serving as permanent secretary at the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry, will need to be replaced.