New Nationalist MP Charlo' Bonnici, 41, of Attard has submitted his nomination for the election of PN general secretary.

Mr Bonnici said he understood that his nomination could have come as a surprise to some people, as he had been thinking about the possibility silently. However a number of members of the PN executive had urged him to contest, giving him the final push to go ahead.

"Once I decided to enter the political arena and committed myself to the party and the country, I feel I can contribute more," he said.

He said he viewed the role of a general secretary as being two-pronged, the political and the organisation. He would work to improve the party's organisation within localities, where a revamp was needed every few years, and he would seek to encourage more people to come forward to serve. At the same time he would also seek to build new bridges with PN supporters who had distanced themselves from the party over the past few years.

Mr Bonnici was elected to the House for the first time on March 8, having previously served as deputy mayor of Attard.

He is a former chairman of the MaltaSong board and served on the secretariat of former Education Minister Louis Galea, himself a former PN general secretary.

The election for general secretary is also expected to be contested by Valletta mayor Paul Borg Oivier and PN acting information secretary Jean-Pierre Debono.