Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is expected to call on the President tomorrow at 9 a.m. to set the wheels in motion for a March 8 general election, The Sunday Times has learnt.
Dr Gonzi will host his last Cabinet meeting of this legislature at 9.45 a.m. and will then meet with the Nationalist Party's Parliamentary Group 30 minutes later. The PN is planning to hold a rally tomorrow evening, paving the way for a five-week campaign.
Local council elections in 23 localities will also be held on March 8.
However, Dr Gonzi declined to let the cat out of the bag yesterday, refusing to make any reference to the general election, skirting reporters' questions over whether he will make the announcement tomorrow. Even without the announcement, the political parties are clearly in election mode, with the PN, the Labour Party, Alternattiva Demokratika and Azzjoni Nazzjonali holding political events yesterday.
In an interview today (see pages 8,9), PN general secretary Joe Saliba says his party will embark on an intense campaign to drum-up support, especially among traditional supporters who are still reluctant to vote. It is understood that the PN is planning a daily media event in the run-up to the big day.
Labour general secretary Jason Micallef, on the other hand, said he would wait for the official announcement before making any public statements on his party's campaign.
"The Prime Minister has been so undecided about the election date that I wouldn't dare make a comment. Wasn't it absurd that the Electoral Office was only informed on Friday evening about the local council elections? Dates like these should be established in the people's interest - and not in the interest of the party in Government," Mr Micallef said.
After Dr Gonzi's visit, President Eddie Fenech Adami will issue a writ to dissolve Parliament and inform the Electoral Commission about when to hold the general election, which will form the 11th Parliament since independence. The Commission will then have three days within which to publish notices saying where and when it will receive nominations of candidates.
Around 300,000 people are eligible to vote in the next election and the Electoral Commission is bound to send them a voting document within 19 days of the publication of the election writ. The writ for the local council elections, which should be issued at least two days before the general election date is announced, was published in the Government Gazette last Friday.
In a statement, the Electoral Commission yesterday said it would be receiving applications from individuals to serve as assistant electoral commissioners or to serve as counters, supervisors or calculators during the counting of the votes in the local elections. Applications will be received at the Electoral Commission's office, Evans Building, St Elmo Square, Valletta, and in Gozo at the Identity Cards office, 28A, St Francis Square, Victoria.