Alex Borg to give up Gozo seat

Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg will be giving up his home district seat, paving the way for a casual election in Gozo.

Borg is one of seven PN candidates, who on Saturday were elected from two districts. The PN leader contested also on the 12 District, which includes St Paul’s Bay and Mellieħa.

The choice as to which district these MPs have to give up is determined by the party statute. The MP will have to give up the seat in which he got fewer first-count votes calculated as a percentage of the district quota. In a casual election, unelected candidates vying for the vacancy start from zero, irrespective of how many votes they would have obtained on the first count.

Alex Borg scored 262.7% of the district quota in Gozo and 275.6% in the 12 District. As a result, he will have to give up the seat on the 13 District, clearing the way for either Norma Camilleri or Luke Said—the only two PN candidates left in the race.

Stephen Spiteri, who was elected on the 2 and 3 districts, will have to give up the latter seat for a casual election that will see six PN candidates contest the vacancy. Whoever is elected will be a new face in parliament.

Conrad Borg Manche will retain his seat on the 10 District and give up his 5 District seat. This will create an opening for former MP Stanley Zammit, who will have to contend with five other PN candidates.

On the 7 District, there will be two casual elections to fill vacancies created by Adrian Delia and Rebekah Borg, who will retain their seats on the 8 and 11 districts respectively. The two casual elections, create a pathway for former MPs Ian Vassallo Hagi and Charles Azzopardi. However, Azzopardi could be given a good run for his money by newcomer Andrew Agius, who sits above him on the ballot sheet since candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

A similar dual contest will happen on the 10 District, where Joe Giglio and Mark Anthony Sammut will give up their seats. The PN has a long list of unelected candidates on this district, including former MPs Graziella Attard Previ, Graham Bencini and Albert Buttigieg.