Edward Zammit Lewis has ruled himself out of the race for the deputy leadership by saying he or she should not be a Member of Parliament.

The Justice Minister, who could have been a possible contender, wrote on his Facebook page that he believes that the person to replace Chris Cardona, who has resigned, must come from outside the House of Representatives.

This should be so to eliminate district influence on the race for deputy leader, which according to him should be focused solely on the party, especially at a time when Labour is in power.

There have been occasions when the Labour Party’s deputy leader for party affairs did not hold a parliamentary seat.

In the recent past, George Abela, Michael Falzon and Toni Abela were all deputy leaders without being an MP, although Falzon was later elected.