Anglu Farrugia was elected Labour deputy leader for parliamentary affairs this evening, beating Chris Cardona in an election run-off. Dr Farrugia won 535 votes to Dr Cardona’s 293.

Toni Abela was elected deputy leader for party affairs, beating Gavin Gulia in the run-off for that post. Dr Abela won 528 votes and Dr Gulia 307 according to provisional figures.

Dr Farrugia, a former police superintendent turned lawyer, has been serving in Parliament since 1996. He never held a ministerial post but was opposition spokesman for justice in the last legislature. He was unsuccessful in the elections for MLP deputy leader in 1998 and unsuccessfully contested Alfred Sant for the leadership in 2003.

A hero turned zero and back to hero, outspoken Hamrun lawyer Toni Abela was president for the MLP before he and Wenzu Mintoff were dismissed from the party in the 1980s for the way they criticised elements of its administration. They helped set up Alternattiva Demokratika but eventually drifted back to the Labour fold.

Dr Abela has since had an almost daily presence on One Television, taking part in programmes dealing with politics, social and legal affairs.