Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant confirmed on Wednesday that he would be seeking re-election to the European Parliament next May.
The Labour MEP announced on Facebook that he had submitted his candidature at the party headquarters, seconded by Helena Dalli, Joe Debono Grech and Tommy Dimech.
His candidature follows an appeal on Sunday by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who urged Dr Sant to seek re-election.
"Please don’t leave us on tenterhooks any longer because the country and the party need you. It is ultimately up to you to decide but the country certainly needs an MEP with such experience as Alfred Sant," Dr Muscat said.
Dr Sant said later that day it would be hard to ignore the appeal, but had yet to commit himself to contesting the 2019 elections. He was elected in 2014, the first time he contested the European elections, obtaining 48,739 votes.