Former TVM head of news Norma Saliba and former Labour mayor Alex Sciberras will be contesting the post of president of the Labour Party.

The two made their announcements on Facebook in the past hours.

The post has been vacated Ramona Attard, who last Monday said she is not considering another term.

Applications to contest the election for top positions in the Labour Party, including those for deouty leader for parliamentary affairs and deputy leader for party affairs close on Sunday.

The election will be held on 13 September.

In his post announcing his intentions, Sciberras said that he has "always been driven by a sense of loyalty to what the Labour Party stands for and the ideals upon which it is founded. Today, I recognise that the Party needs this more than ever."

Sciberras had been considering contesting for the post of deputy leader for party affairs until a statutory change made MPs and MEPs eligible.

Saliba, who now heads the Centre of the Maltese Language, announced on Facebook on Saturday that after much thought and discussion, she decided to accept Prime Minister Robert Abela’s invitation to contest for the role of party president. 

She also said she had the backing of Minister Ian Borg and MEP Alex Agius Saliba, the two confirmed candidates for the party’s two deputy leadership positions.

“I will work with all my strength to fulfil party delegates’ and activists’ wish of ensuring Labour remains Malta and Gozo’s biggest political force,” Saliba said, saying that fresh ideas and new impetus are needed for the party to renew itself.