David Agius and Robert Arrigo are the two new Deputy Leaders of the Nationalist Party according to initial results. MPs David Agius and Robert Arrigo managed to beat Toni Bezzina and Edwin Vassallo in yet another PN internal election.
Robert Arrigo was the first to be elected as the PN Deputy Leader for Party Affairs. Arrigo announced this in an impromptu press conference at the PN headquarters. Holding back tears, Arrigo said that Toni Bezzina is a very valuable asset in the party. "I can assure you, the people's messages will not fall on deaf ears."
David Agius, who was elected to the post of Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs, told journalists that his first thanks goes to his family and those who supported him. He also thanked Edwin Vassallo for a friendly campaign. "I was loyal to all the PN leaders and today, I am willing to work with Adrian Delia. We have a new team now, and I want to work in this credible and effective Opposition."
PN Leader Adrian Delia said that this campaign confirms that the party is alive more than ever. "We are going through a regeneration process. What we have been through together in the last years, did not bring us down." He said the PN has shown that the democratic process in Malta is still strong. "We have shown our country and the world, that Malta is not a Mafia state. That we don't only have a corrupt government, but normal families who want to work and earn their money in an honest way." He thanked Toni Bezzina and Edwin Vassallo, David Agius and Robert Arrigo for their support.
Voting for candidates in the PN deputy leadership elections came to a close at 9 pm Saturday evening, as PN paid members were called on to vote for candidates contesting the two deputy leadership positions within the party. A total of 10,785 votes were cast in both elections. Robert Arrigo won his race by receiving a total of 9,168 votes, and David Agius won his race after receiving a total of 5,737 votes - according to the PN Electoral Commission President Robert Muscat.
MPs Beppe Fenech Adami and Mario de Marco were, up until today, occupying the two posts in the party ranking. They both announced they intend to step down from their posts following the staggering defeat of the PN Opposition in the last general election. The post for deputy leaders for parliamentary affairs was being contested by MPs David Agius and Edwin Vassallo. Robert Arrigo and Tony Bezzina were eyeing the post of deputy leader for party affairs.
No less than 18,000 paid-up party members were eligible to vote. Only 11,546 actually collected the voting document. This means that some 35% of eligible voters decided to shun this, yet another, PN internal elections.
The ballot boxes closed off earlier in Gozo. The members were able to vote at the PN headquarters in Pieta', Naxxar, Tarxien and at Sannat in Gozo. The result is expected to be announced late at night.
According to the PN media, the official turnout was of around 92.1% of the people who actually collected the document. This means that 92.1% of the 11,546 cast their vote.
Photos: Baskal Mallia