Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia and his leadership rival Bernard Grech sparred over the allocation of space on the party's media on Wednesday.

While Delia declared on Facebook that he had told the party's electoral commission that he had no objection to Grech being given space on the PN media even before the due diligence process is completed, Grech retorted that it was the commission which actually persuaded the party leadership to relent after he made several requests.  

Delia said he had received a request from Grech to be allocated space on the PN media.

Although the PN administrative council had decided that media space would only be allocated when the due diligence process was completed and the candidates were formally declared, Delia said he had no objection to space being provided earlier.

Delia said he had also asked the electoral committee to organise debates between him and Grech on the PN media once their candidatures were confirmed.

In this way, the party members could better understand the vision of the candidates.

But in a reaction, Grech said that he had made several requests for media space and finally, common sense had prevailed.  

He thanked the electoral commission for heeding his calls for balance on the party media during a leadership contest, as provided in the party statute.

The statute provides that the media should be balanced between the candidates  and the electoral commission may take whatever measures are necessary to ensure there is no undue advantage among interested persons and candidates in the election. 

"It now appears that the electoral commission has persuaded the party leadership not to continue to obstruct the implementation of the provisions of the statute and the direction set by the Executive Committee, aimed at having a fair election," Grech said.

The exchange came two days after a party spokesman defended Delia's use of party funds for Facebook adverts promoting his three-year stint at the helm.

A party spokesman on Monday refuted the suggestion that this practice amounted to abuse of power. He said the PN leadership campaign had not yet started, as both Delia and Grech were yet to be officially declared as candidates.