PN new general secretary to be chosen tonight

The Nationalist Party's executive committee will meet this evening to choose the party's new general secretary to replace the Joe Saliba who has occupied the post since 1999.

Charlò Bonnici, a new MP and a human resources manager, 41, and 38-year-old Valletta mayor Paul Borg Olivier, a lawyer by profession, will be running for the post. The former is considered by many to be the favourite.

The party's executive, composed of 62 members, will be meeting at the new PN headquarters at 6 p.m. with the result expected around 8 p.m.

Voting will also take place for other posts within the party. Karol Aquilina, Malcolm Mifsud and Marthese Portelli will be running for the post of president of the executive committee at present occupied by Jean Pierre Farrugia; Pierre Portelli is the only candidate for the post of president of the administrative council now occupied by Paula Mifsud Bonnici; Peter Darmanin and John Bonello are also the only candidates hoping to be confirmed party treasurer and international secretary respectively.

Nationalist Party assistant information secretary Jean Pierre Debono, who had been mentioned as a possible contender for the general secretary job, is the only candidate running for the post of assistant general secretary.

While Mr Bonnici has openly stated that if elected he will not relinquish his seat in Parliament, Dr Borg Olivier has expressed his intention to resign as mayor if elected general secretary.

When Prime Minister Law-rence Gonzi was the party's general secretary, he was also an MP before he was replaced by Mr Saliba who leaves the PN's top administrative job after nine years, two general election victories, a successful EU referendum campaign, a change of party leader, and a state-of-the-art party headquarters he conceived six years ago.