Mario Cutajar and Joe Chetcuti, both declared contenders for the MLP administrative elections of 4 August, are technically unable to submit their candidatures, as neither is a paid-up party delegate.
The MLP statute clearly states that “nominations for official members and ordinary members are accepted from members of the General Conference” – “members” in this context referring directly to party delegates.
Deputy secretary-general of the GWU, Mario Cutajar, last Sunday confirmed with sister newspaper Illum his intention to stage a comeback in the political arena.
Cutajar said that he was pushed by many to contest one of the high-ranking posts in the Labour Party, and identified MLP leader Joseph Muscat as one of those who approached him.
Illum revealed that Mario Cutajar is earmarked for the post of education secretary of the MLP, although to date he has not confirmed which post he intends to contest.
But Cutajar, a former president of the Attard MLP committee, is no longer an MLP delegate and is therefore facing his first snag before even officially entering the race.
In the same boat as Cutajar is also Joe Chetcuti, an economist and contributor to GWU newspaper l-orizzont, who last Saturday publicly announced his candidature for the post of general secretary, currently occupied by Jason Micallef.
Another person who could possibly face a similar hurdle is ex-Labour minister Alex Sceberras Trigona. MaltaToday Midweek had revealed that the foreign minister from the 1980s has shown interest in the post of MLP international affairs’ secretary, currently held by Joe Mifsud.
However, all options remain open, as there is a way out for the trio. The Labour statute also states that the National Executive can call an extraordinary general conference, if 10% + 1 of the delegates so request. These delegates can then suggest the idea of abolishing the old clause and ‘liberalising’ the posts to make them available even to non-MLP delegates.
Another alternative is for the National Executive itself to call a general conference, citing “a special reason” to justify the decision. If the latter case materialises, it will be a first for the Labour Party.
Insiders have also hinted at another reason to hold a general conference. Many Labour delegates are keen on changing a particular clause which at present offers ample room for criticism. As things stand, a contender for any of the party’s administration posts can automatically win by registering the highest number of votes. This technically means that if there are numerous candidates for the post, a president or secretary general of the MLP can be elected even if he gets the backing of a mere 20% of the delegates.
This proviso can be removed if a motion is presented by 10% + 1 of the delegates. Instead, some delegates would prefer a situation whereby the winner is decided with a minimum 50% + 1 vote: a manoeuvre which would make it harder for Jason Micallef to hold onto his post as secretary-general.
The election for the administrative posts is set for 4 August, whilst that for the executive will be held on 5 August.
For both elections to take place as scheduled, any calls for a change in the party statute would have to be presented before the end of this week.