Stefan Caruana, who is a member of the Gudja Local Council on behalf of the Nationalist Party, has announced that he has withdrawn from the contest to be the PN's next Secretary General.

The contest for the party's Secretary General position has now become a two-horse race between Fgura councillor and ex private secretary to Lawrence Gonzi, Charles Bonello, and Liam Sciberras, who is a councillor in Santa Luċija.

Caruana made his decision public through social media.

He said that the next general election is vital to the country, and "requires the Nationalist Party to be in a position to offer an alternative to the Maltese and Gozitans."

Caruana said that he has already consulted with PN leader Bernard Grech on his decision to drop out of this race.

The Gudja councillor hinted that he could be on the PN ticket as a candidate in the next general election, as he described his promise to the Opposition leader that he will "continue to do everything [he] can to help the Party win the next general election."

The Nationalist Party's present Secretary General, Michael Piccinino, announced his decision to step down from this role back in August. He was expected to be replaced by Karl Gouder, but the party stalwart passed away just two days after publicizing his interest to be Piccinino's successor.

Caruana is the nephew of Raymond Caruana, the victim of the unsolved murder which occurred in December 1986. Raymond Caruana was shot dead in a drive-by shooting while he was at the PN Gudja club.