Ryan Mercieca, who contested the 2017 elections on the PN ticket, told this website he was still considering running for the seat vacated by the death of Frederick Azzopardi. But if he decided to run, he would be doing so without the blessing of the party that put him forward for election three years ago.
The PN said in a statement today they were starting a disciplinary process that would see Ryan Mercieca chucked out of the PN for incidents reported in the press after the 2017 election. Ryan Mercieca denies any wrongdoing.
If he were to be elected, he would sit in Parliament as an independent. However, he cannot be sure of an election even if he defied the party’s wishes and contested anyway. Though he ended his run in 2017 with a higher vote count than his rivals, experts expect rival candidate Joe Ellis to inherit more votes from Frederick Azzopardi given that alphabetically he is closer to Azzopardi on the ballot sheet.
This website reported Friday that the possible election of Ryan Mercieca could embarrass the PN given his poor personal record that casts doubts on Mercieca’s character and integrity.