MP Frederick Azzopardi scotches rumours that he will give his seat to Delia

Persistent rumours swirling over the last few days had it that Opposition MP Frederick Azzopardi (Gozo) will be the one to give up his seat in parliament, allowing Adrian Delia to become leader of the Opposition should he be elected Nationalist Party leader tomorrow.

But Mr Azzopardi scotched those rumours when this website rang him a few minutes ago. “I met all four candidates at their request and spoke with them some weeks ago. Nobody ever even raised the subject of my seat. It just never came up.”

This website asked him how he would respond if the subject were to come up, or if he were to be approached to give up his seat. “I would always consider the best interests of the country,” he said, “but I can tell you that I have absolutely no inclination or intention of giving up my seat in parliament.”

Mr Azzopardi gained his seat through the Constitutional mechanism which allows for the number of seats to be adjusted after the actual election process, to make up for discrepancies between seats and votes.

Frederick Azzopardi says he has no intention of giving up his seat in parliament.