PN General Council President Kristy Debono has not received any petition calling for a General Council meeting, and as such cannot comment on what it contains or what will happen once it is received.

Over 150 PN councilors have signed the petition that calls on PN General Council President Kristy Debono to hold a general council in which a secret ballot would take place on whether Delia should "shoulder political responsibility and resign," a senior PN source told this newsroom. However Debono's comments to this newsroom yesterday show that it has not yet been submitted.

Adrian Delia is not obliged to call a vote of confidence at the General Council but, seeing that a petition has exceeded the 150-signature targed, some form of vote will be called anyway, according to the senior PN source.

Delia has been facing calls to resign since the result of the last round of elections, which saw Labour win with a majority of over 40,000 votes. The PN leader has remained steadfast and refused to resign or call a vote of confidence. He addressed a number of executive committee and parliamentary group meetings, presenting a 10-point programme during his last meeting with MPs.

While the required amount of signatures has been reached, party insiders said this would not necessarily force Delia to call for a vote of confidence, adding that some might be misinterpreting the party statute.

A source said: "He is not obliged to call one (vote of confidence) but if it is true that the General Council is being convened directly through over 150 signatories, then such a vote of some other form of it will be called anyway."

The source added: "Many persons within the Party have been growing impatient not necessarily because Dr Adrian Delia has not resigned or asked for a vote of confidence but because he is being perceived as not having acted immediately enough to at least address the causes leading to the results of the European Parliament and Local Council elections. Party activists are growing impatient since they would like to some some concrete measures."

In another development, Mark Anthony Sammut, who resigned from the role of president of the PN's executive committee last month, endorsed the petition.

Former PN candidate Ivan Bartolo told Times of Malta that he was the first to sign the petition.

Several PN officials have publicly backed the petition, including the President and Secretary General of MZPN - the party's youth arm - as well as Attard Deputy Mayor Alex Mangion and the president of the PN's Forum of Professionals, Graham Bencini.