Owen Bonnici throws hat in the race for Labour deputy leader

Justice minister Owen Bonnici will be running for the post of Labour Party deputy leader for party affairs, making the number of candidates expected to run in the hotly-contested race at least two.

The others are economy minister Chris Cardona, who has confirmed his interest, and the former PL president Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, currently the chairman of the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation, who is touted to be considering the move.

The race allows MPs to take part in the election for the post once reserved solely for non-MPs, after changes to the statute were made to accommodate former energy minister Konrad Mizzi, who was selected by the party leadership to take up the post vacated by Toni Abela for his nomination for the European Court of Auditors.

Mizzi has since resigned the deputy leadership following his demotion to minister without portfolio over the Panama Papers revelations.

Abela, whose nomination for the ECA was turned down by the Budgetary Control Committee in the European Parliament, has not yet confirmed whether he will join the race.

Cardona intends running a professional campaign to win the position, holding regular meetings with party delegates. Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi on the other hand is depending on the backing of delegates who were allied to former planning parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon. Apart from his close friendship with Falzon, Zrinzo Azzopardi – who was party president for five years before the 2013 election –  is also a close collaborator of Labour CEO Gino Cauchi.

Candidates must achieve 50% of the quota established in the election.

In the eventuality that nobody reaches the quota or nobody submits a nomination, then Labour will co-opt somebody to fill in Brincat’s seat.

Nominations for the post of deputy leader must be submitted between Monday 9 May and Tuesday 10 May, with the election being held a month later.

The first phase will take place between 9 and 10 June, with the possibility of a run-off one day later if nobody is elected in the first round.