Former Rabat mayor Charles Azzopardi has submitted his nomination for the casual election to fill the seat vacated by former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna.
Azzopardi was not allowed by the Labour Party to contest the 2019 local council elections after what he called “malicious manoeuvres” to tarnish his reputation and credibility.
Azzopardi had publicly opposed a proposed development on Saqqajja Hill in 2019, and the day after that he was handed an anonymous report with allegations about the council’s operations. This report was given to him by a “person who had the duty to inform me about the report before the party took the hasty decision” to stop him from contesting on its behalf.
Could it be that the report was “hastily compiled internally by the party in which I militated for years”, Azzopardi asked in a social media post back then. “Why was I good for the 2017 general election and not good for the 2019 local council election,” he had said, even considering that the anonymous report covered the council’s operations between 2014 and 2017.
As things have transpired however, Azzopardi may yet be able to make it into parliament, which could pose a potential headache for the Labour Party.
This is through a casual election being held on the 7th electoral district – which includes Azzopardi’s home town of Rabat – after Edward Scicluna vacated his seat to become governor of the Central Bank.
Azzopardi obtained 584 first count votes during the 2017 elections, which is the second most out of the three people who can contest for the seat.
The other two people eligible for the seat are MTA chairman Gavin Gulia and MCST chairman Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. They have 848 and 572 first count votes to their name respectively.
Pullicino Orlando – who himself has a controversial political history – has already said in comments with The Malta Independent that he will “certainly” be contesting the casual election, however Gulia – who would start off the race in pole position – has yet to commit.
The nomination period for the casual election closes on Saturday 9 January, with the casual election itself taking place on Tuesday 12 January.