Former parliamentary secretary Stefan Buontempo is keeping his cards close to his chest with regard to the casual election triggered by Joseph Muscat’s resignation from Parliament.

Muscat announced his resignation on Monday. Eligible candidates who contested on the second electoral district in the June 2017 General Election and who were not elected have until Monday to submit their nomination for the casual election.

The two PL candidates on Muscat’s electoral district who were not elected to Parliament in 2017 are Stefan Buontempo and Mark Causon. This newsroom contacted both Buontempo and Causon regarding the casual election.

Buontempo said the public will know what his decision is on Monday.

“I form part of the second electoral district and have been given this opportunity to make the decision on whether I will contest or not, and I will say more next Monday,” said Buontempo.

Whilst Buontempo was short on his reply, Mark Causon explained that he must give the decision a lot of thought, since he and his family no longer reside in Malta.

“To be honest, this came out of the blue. I am still considering my personal options, but I am currently working and living abroad, and this is something I must discuss with my family.”

He said he that he truly loves politics and believes the aim is to help people. When asked whether the Labour Party has contacted him, Causon explained that no one had contacted him and he found out about the election through the media.