Clyde Joe Cassar, a 37-year-old immigration officer who will stand for election for the post of Deputy Leader for Party Affairs, believes it should not only be the delegates but also paid-up members who should vote for the party's new leadership.
This idea was first mooted by former MLP Deputy Leader George Abela who is contesting the party's top post along with several other aspirants.
Since then, a petition has been circulating among delegates calling for an Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss a motion for paid-up members to be allowed to vote. Some 120 of the 900 delegates who are expected to vote have signed the petition, which is over the 10 per cent stipulated by the party's statute to call an EGM.
In a letter to the media announcing his intention to contest the post, Dr Cassar, who contested the general election on the Labour Party ticket, said paid-up members should have a say in the way the party is run and should not only be there to pay membership fees or for fund-raising activities.
Dr Cassar is qualified as an assistant veterinarian and holds degrees in biology and a PhD in philosophy. He was born in Canada in July 1970.
He contested the general election for the first time in March when he ran on the eighth electoral district but was not elected.
He echoed former MLP leader Alfred Sant in saying that no one should be discarded. He insisted that more meaning should be given to this phrase, arguing that for more democracy to reign within the party, power should be decentralised and decisions taken by the local committees.
He is also proposing that whoever is voted to an administrative post should be elected for a two-year-period, with an approval sought at a general conference. He said he would also be working for the party to become more transparent.
Dr Cassar has joined the race for the post of Deputy Leader for Party Affairs along with lawyer Toni Abela. Although he has not yet confirmed it officially, Labour MP Gavin Gulia has also expressed his interest in contesting the post Lawyer and MP Anġlu Farrugia is so far the only official candidate for the post of Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs.