Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/994982
3 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 JUNE 2018 tickets f rom teatrumalta.org.mt or 2122 0255 MON 18 JUNE 2018 8PM 10-11PM ENGLAND VS TUNISIA GAME SUN 17 JUNE 2018 8PM BRAZIL VS SWITZERLAND GAME 10-11PM FRI 15 JUNE 2018 8PM PORTUGAL VS SPAIN GAME 10-11PM SUN 24 JUNE 2018 8PM 10-11PM POLAND VS COLOMBIA GAME SAT 23 JUNE 2018 8PM GERMANY VS SWEDEN GAME 10-11PM THU 21 JUNE 2018 8PM ARGENTINA VS CROATIA GAME 10-11PM A FREE PINT OF BEER OR SOFT DRINK WITH EVERY TICKET PURCHASE GENERAL ADMISSION €20 CONCESSIONS €15 TROPHIES LOUNGE, NATIONAL STADIUM, TA' QALI 15, 17, 18, 21, 23, 24 JUNE 2018 10PM (FOLLOWING WORLD CUP SCREENINGS) PN's vetting of candidates 'not mandatory' MATTHEW VELLA THE Nationalist Party's lat- est batch of MEP candidates, Frank Psaila and Michael Briguglio, have been selected without the oversight of the party's 'electoral' commission, a move that has been met with consternation by various MPs. But a party spokesperson in- sisted yesterday that the Ad- ministrative Council was not bound by the party statute to present any candidates to the selection commission, for vet- ting. Adrian Delia's election to the PN brought with it its own timbre of change, el- egantly encapsulated by his 'new way' slogan. But the al- leged scuttling of the party's own selection committee for party candidates left MPs smarting, some claiming this went against the party statute. "I'm not aware of any dis- cussion in the executive com- mission about not using the selection committee to vet candidates," said one MP. "But if this needs a change to the statute, then it must be decided by the General Coun- cil. It's not about whether these candidates are suitable: it's a question of rules being followed." The PN's commission for the selection of candidates is established by the party stat- ute, and the committee stays in office for five years after its appointment by the PN's Administrative Council. The commission is responsible for vetting prospective can- didates referred to it by the administrative council. But ultimately, candidates are ap- proved by the PN executive. PN secretary-general Clyde Puli stunned MPs when he told The Malta Independent that he was scouting party candidates himself, so that they are then approved by the party's executive. "The commission is not con- stituted right now, but it has always been the party execu- tive that approved the candi- dates. The commission was appointed under the previ- ous leadership... before that it was always the administrative council to present the can- didates to the party's execu- tive." Puli said it was he who was "doing the scouting" but that it would be the party's execu- tive to formally approve the candidates. A party spokesperson disa- greed with this newspaper that the commission had been scuttled, arguing that the commission could yet be asked to vet candidates. "Salvu Mallia's candidature was approved by the party leadership without any vet- ting from the commission in 2017," the spokesperson said, offering a strict interpretation of the statute. "The administrative council is not bound by the statute to refer the candidates to the se- lection commission. Indeed, the statute establishes the commission and its purpose is to present an 'appreciation' of the candidate, but ultimately the decision to approve the candidates always rests with the executive." In his interview, Puli con- firmed that the party will once again be adopting the strategy where the PN's administra- tive council refers candidates to the executive. Puli has confirmed that can- didates like Frank Psaila and Michael Briguglio, the former Alternattiva Demokratika chairperson, have accepted an invitation to run for MEP. While their endorsement is already clear in the public eye, Puli said other candidates like EU veteran Peter Agius – to- day spokesperson for Euro- pean Parliament president Antonio Tajani – and family lawyer Bernard Grech, are yet to confirm their interest. The PN's Administrative Council is not bound by the statute to pass on candidates to its vetting committee Chief scout: PN secretary-general Clyde Puli said he is carrying out his own scouting but the selection commission created by former PN leader Simon Busuttil had not been constituted this time around, meaning candidates pushed by the PN's Administrative Council will go for approval to the party executive without the extra 'layer' of scrutiny of the selection commission SAVIOUR BALZAN on the MEP elections' newest candidates PG 21