The PN's general council kicks off tonight, with councillors voting on whether the party's general convention should vote for a leader or confirm incumbent Adrian Delia.

Agreement on the general council and the wording of the vote was reached during a stormy meeting of the party's executive committee last week.

Delia has been facing renewed calls for his resignation ever since the latest trust surveys and claims that he was in contact with 17 Black owner Yorgen Fenech.

He recently lost two votes of confidence; one by the parliamentary group and a second at the executive council. The PN leader has warned that there is not place in the party for those who are not willing to work with him.

His detractors, who had nominated MP Therese Comodini Cachia to replace him as Opposition Leader, say Delia should go because he is unfit to be a leader and has failed to unite the party or make any inroads in opinion polls.

Over 400 councillors have already voted on Thursday, in an early voting session. Over 1,600 councillors are eligible to vote. Delia has said that he would contest a leadership election if the councillors go for this option.

In either case, it will be the party's tesserati (paid-up members) who would vote in a leadership election or in a confidence vote.

General Council president Censu Galea is expected to be the first speaker tonight, followed by MZPN President Joe Grech and PN Leader Adrian Delia.

The session is not open to the public due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Galea urged councillors to put the best interests of the country before anything else when voting. He urged those present to show respect towards each other, even if they did not agree with their opinion. It is only with reciprocal respect that the PN can unite and once again become an effective opposition, he said.