The nomination period for the two deputy leader posts and other major positions within the Labour Party came to a close today.
For the position of Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs, the Labour Party's Electoral Commission received the nomination of Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg, While for the position of Deputy Leader for Party Affairs, it received the nomination of MEP Alex Agius Saliba.
No other nominations were filed for either of those two posts, meaning that the candidate for each post will not face any competition.
The need to elect new Deputy Leaders arose when Daniel Micallef announced that he would not continue in the role of Deputy Leader for Party Affairs soon after the conclusion of the MEP elections, and after PL MP Chris Fearne announced that he would no longer remain on in the post pf PL Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs after a court ruled there was enough prima facie evidence for the hospitals deal case against him to continue.
Originally others were considering contesting for the post of Deputy Leader, including Jason Micallef, who had announced his intention to contest the role of Deputy Leader for Party Affairs. But after meetings with Prime Minister Robert Abela and Alex Agius Saliba, Micallef announced his decision not to contest. Micallef was later appointed as the PL's 'special delegate for the implementation of the electoral manifesto.
In its statement yesterday, the Labour Party also said that its electoral commission also accepted nominations for the positions of President, Vice President, International Secretary, and Organizational Secretary within the Administration of the Labour Party.
For the position of President of the Labour Party, Alex Sciberras and Norma Saliba have submitted their nominations.
For the position of Vice President of the Labour Party, Louis Gatt submitted his nomination.
For the position of International Secretary of the Labour Party, John Grech and Georvin Bugeja have submitted their nominations.
For the position of Organizational Secretary of the Labour Party, Architect William Lewis submitted his nomination.
The Commission also accepted nominations for twelve ordinary members in the National Executive of the Labour Party, with thirty-eight members submitting their nominations.
Nominations were accepted at the National Labour Centre from Friday, August 23rd, until Sunday, August 25th. Voting will take place on Friday, September 13th at the National Labour Centre in Malta and the Labour Centre in Sannat, Gozo, and the vote count will take place on the same day after the voting closes.