Labour Party deputy leader Charles Mangion is expected be sworn in as Opposition Leader for an interim period after Alfred Sant vacates the post this evening when MLP delegates vote to elect a new leader.
Dr Sant confirmed yesterday he would be resigning as Opposition Leader today. He stepped down as party leader the day after the March 8 election result.
Asked why he did not wait until a new Labour leader is elected, he said that tonight's election meant that the post of party leader would be filled. When it was pointed out that the election could continue tomorrow, if no one of the five contenders nets 50 per cent plus one of the votes, Dr Sant said that did not matter.
When Dr Mangion was asked whether he had been approached to be sworn in as Leader of the Opposition even if for an interim period, Dr Mangion said that, effectively, the ball was in the President's court.
The President, he said, had to act in line with the Constitution, which said that he would have to nominate a person who, in his opinion, enjoyed the majority support of opposition MPs.
Dr Mangion said that as he was acting leader of the party in this interim period in line with an agreement within the party's executive and parliamentary group, it was most likely that he would be approached to take over as Opposition Leader for the time being.
Dr Sant was also asked about the fact that the new party leader may not be a member of the House.
He said this was something that had to be resolved according to the Constitution.
Two of the five contestants for tonight's election - George Abela and Joseph Muscat - are not MPs.
Although there is the possibility that if one of them is elected leader, he would be co-opted to Parliament, Dr Abela has already declared he was not interested in becoming an MP at least until he got the party's house in order.
He had said when he launched his campaign that being a leader but not an MP was permitted both by the party's statute and by the Constitution.
Asked if it were possible for the Labour leader not to be the Leader of the Opposition, Dr Mangion said this was another point that had to be tackled once the leadership process was over.
Although the situation was hypothetical, one had to bear in mind that the party's deputy leader for parliamentary affairs was an MP and formed part of the party's leadership.
The situation, Dr Mangion said, was interesting constitutionally and since it was a new development it had to be approached cautiously in order to ensure that Parliament's work continued in the national interest and that the party's internal work proceeded according to the party's exigencies.
The Office of the President was asked what would happen following Dr Sant's resignation and until a new MLP leader was elected. It was also asked what would happen if the party's new leader was not an MP.
Its curt reply was: "With reference to your e-mail hereunder please note that: The Leader of the Opposition will be appointed according to article 90 of the Constitution".
This article says that:
"Whenever there shall be occasion for the appointment of a Leader of the Opposition, the President shall appoint - if there is one opposition party whose numerical strength in the House of Representatives is greater than the strength of any other opposition party, the member of the House of Representatives who is the leader of that party..."
It also stated that: "The office of Leader of the Opposition shall become vacant... if he ceases to be a member of the House otherwise than by a dissolution of Parliament".
Sources close to the Attorney General's Office said when asked whether the Leader of the Opposition could be a person who was not an MP, that they did not believe this was possible.