George Abela, Labour's former deputy leader, yesterday said that he still has "strong intentions" to contest the party's post for leadership after the list of official contenders rose to three over the weekend.

Deputy leader Michael Falzon announced his bid on Saturday joining another two party heavyweights in the race, MP Evarist Bartolo and MEP Joseph Muscat. But Dr Abela yesterday said there was still ample time to officially announce his decision.

"At the moment, I'm gauging people's support and they are supporting me to continue along this road (to contest for leadership). There's still two months left," Dr Abela said when contacted yesterday. Dr Abela has long been hailed as a person who could lead the party into a new era, but he feels the rules of the game should be changed - he has proposed that the party's statute be amended to allow members, and not just the delegates, to vote for the new leader.

This proposal is still hanging, but Labour insiders had told The Times that the biggest hurdle to implement such a proposal was of a logistical nature.

Meanwhile, Labour MP Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, who is popular among the different strata of society, especially the disadvantaged, and who was the first candidate to be elected in the last general election, is also still mulling whether to run for the top job in the June 5 contest. "I'm still thinking about it, because people are asking me to consider it. I cannot possibly turn my back on the people who trusted me. There's still a lot of time left," she said.

Another potential contender is MP Anġlu Farrugia, who made headlines on Friday when he asked the police to investigate allegations that people in the Nationalist camp had bought votes ahead of the March 8 election.