PN decides which seats to give up

Former Economic Services Minister Josef Bonnici appears to be the best placed among PN candidates aiming to win a seat in parliament in the casual elections that have to be held after the Nationalist Party administrative council last night determined the districts in which the elections should be held.

In the general election, four PN candidates each won a seat on two districts, of which each has to give one up. Louis Galea will now give up his seat on the fifth district, Francis Zammit Dimech on the ninth, Joe Borg on the 10th and Eddie Fenech Adami on the 11th.

The decisions were taken by secret vote among 57 members of the party's council, which convened at the PN headquarters yesterday.

Party sources said Prof. Bonnici seemed to have garnered the largest number of preferences after the candidates who were elected on the 11th district. The decision not to hold an election in the eighth district, where Dr Fenech Adami also won a seat, means that former MP Michael Axiaq is automatically out of the race.

The council decided that Dr Galea should relinquish his seat in the fifth district rather than the seventh, leaving former Nationalist MP Helena D'Amato in pole position, according to PN sources. The decision will leave Siggiewi mayor Robert Musumeci and former MP Michael Bonnici, who were considered the front-runners in their district, out of the running.

On the other hand, the races for seats on the ninth and 10th districts are still wide open, with a tough battle expected between several established candidates.

In the ninth the favourites include John Vella, who has been elected every time since 1976, and Michael Frendo, a member of the Convention on the Future of Europe. PN sources said this particular district could spring a few surprises, however, as it appeared that a body of voters, after marking their number one candidate, went on to give their next preferences in alphabetical order.

On the 10th district, the doors are wide open for two well-known figures - former minister Michael Refalo and Dr Frendo, though former parliamentary secretary George Hyzler is not being ruled out.

Analysts said the outcome of casual elections was always difficult to predict. For example, in 1998 Michael Asciaq had leapfrogged over Richard Muscat when the latter had been widely expected to take the seat.

PN sources said that over the last two weeks several candidates had been lobbying for their own districts to remain open.

The Labour Party decided on its own districts last Wednesday.

The parties will now write to the Speaker, who will inform the Electoral Commission about their decision. The commission will then decide when to hold the casual elections, which are expected to be held next week.