PN launches unorthodox, eleventh-hour proxy vote for Grech leadership election

The Nationalist Party has announced it will allow its party delegates, the members of the General Council, to vote in Saturday’s leadership election by proxy.

But the eleventh-hour decision comes just a day before the PN’s councillors get to cast their vote in a one-horse race for the re-election of Bernard Grech leader.

The leadership election, held by secret ballot, is mandated by the PN’s statute after each general election.

But the same statute carries no reference to voting for the leader by proxy votes, a system that would upend the principle of free voting. “It’s a no-no,” said a PN member with former experience in the party’s top structures. “It goes against the principle of the free vote – if an election is not secret, then have it done by a show of hands.”

Party sources are surprised at the general lack of interest that might characterise Grech’s re-election on Saturday. Early voting on Monday finished with just 15.5% of eligible General Council member, casting their secret ballot.

A PN spokesperson has told MaltaToday the proxy vote is only for councillors who are abroad overseas, and that requests for them to vote were accepted by electoral commissioner Peter Fenech who formalised it into the proxy vote announced on Friday.

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The statute indeed points out that a secret ballot must be held in the General Council in the case of one nomination for a leadership election, who will be elected with over 50% of valid votes cast by councillors.

This had been one of the amendments to the Statute made after the PN first held its 2017 leadership election between all paid-up members that elected Adrian Delia.

But the PN’s electoral commissioner Peter Fenech on Thursday evening at 8pm, announced that eligible voters who were abroad and could not be physically present to vote, could inform the electoral commission that they were appointing a person in their stead to cast a proxy vote.

Voting starts on Friday at 5pm till 9pm, and again on Saturday between 8am to 5pm, among the 1,550 eligible councillors that will confirm Grech’s position as PN leader. The result is expected by 7pm on Saturday.