Ivan Bartolo, one of the key figures who led the charge for a confidence vote in PN Leader Adrian Delia last year, has put his name in the race to become MP in an upcoming casual election.

Bartolo is the favourite to take the seat, having narrowly missed out in the 2017 general election. However, he faces stiff competition for candidates like Roselyn Borg Knight, St Julian’s Mayor Albert Buttigieg, and Swieqi Mayor Noel Muscat.

Sliema vice-mayor Graziella Attard Previ and Charles Selvaggi have also put their names forward

The seat on the 9th District opened up after Marthese Portelli unexpectedly resigned last week.

After the PN’s record defeat at the 2019 MEP and local council elections, Bartolo spearheaded a movement which called for PN leader Adrian Delia to face a confidence vote at the PN General Council, a vote Delia ended up winning comfortably.

“The gentleman is there, he’s been very perseverant and resilient, and at this moment in time it’s not about one person,” he said. “I had done what I did [spearhead the confidence vote] and I have no intentions of doing it all over again,” Bartolo told Lovin Malta yesterday.

Another casual election, in the twelfth district, will take place on Tuesday for the seat vacated by former PN leader Simon Busuttil. David Thake, Graziella Galea, Simone Torpiano, Simone Aquilina, and Sam Abela have submitted their nominations so far.

Thake, a Delia critic, and Galea, a Delia supporter, are likely to battle it out for that seat.