PN leadership candidate Chris Said is proposing to widen election process for the party’s general secretary, so that it is no longer elected by the party executive but from the 1,500 members of the General Council.

Furthermore, he also unveiled a plan to give greater status to the PN’s electoral office (Elcom) and bring it on par with other party structures which are represented in the general council and the executive committee.

Dr Said unveiled these proposals at a news conference held in the PN club in Birkirkara. 

The leadership contestant reiterated that if elected, he would work from a party club rather than the Pieta headquarters at least once a week, to be closer to the people and party grassroots. 

He said certain PN clubs of “sentimental value" which had been maintained by members at significant cost over the years, would be transformed into centres for political dialogue, while tapping additional revenue through commercial ventures. 

Dr Said spoke on the need to revamp the street leaders system. 

“Sectional committees need not be there to run the club, but to debate political and social matters and give feedback accordingly,” he remarked. 

“The PN also needs to commission a study to analyse societal trends to become electable”, he added. 

Stronger voice for council members

The leadership contestant announced that general council members would be given a stronger voice in the party under his leadership. 

All 1,500 councillors would be able to vote for the party's general secretary, rather than the 80 executive council members who did so currently, he said. This change would come into force in two years’ time.

“It should be up to the people to choose the officials, not a select few around the leadership”, he said. 

He also announced that the PN’s electoral office (Elcom) would be run by a board appointed by the party executive and given the same status as other branches, with 15 votes in the general council and three in the executive. 

Declaration of assets

Dr Said also published a declaration of assets (see atttached pdf), saying he said he wanted to put all of his cards on the table. 

Apart from his residence in Nadur, Dr Said listed an office in Victoria, an apartment in Lija and additional property in Nadur which he had acquired before getting married. 

Dr Said’s assets also include €50,293 in deposits in local banks, a €52,596 loan, and other investments totalling about €12,600.

Asked whether he believed the Egrant claims, he said he would pronounce himself on the matter once the magisterial inquiry was completed.

Dr Said also referred to a story published in the Times of Malta which said that some party members were mulling a protest vote, as they were unhappy with the pool of leadership candidates. “So far I have not come across this sentiment,” Dr Said remarked.