Alex Perici Calascione was the only contender to throw his name in the hat for the post of PN deputy leader when nominations closed on Saturday at noon.

The former PN executive committee president hinted at his intentions to run on Friday, saying he was "very seriously" considering the bid after several people within the party reached out and encouraged him to contest.

He will now undergo an internal due diligence process and, if approved, will be formally nominated for the post. The party will then decide on an election date when it will ask the councillors to vote on whether they have confidence in him as deputy leader.

A lawyer by profession, Perici Calascione just turned 60 on Friday. Before being elected president of the PN's executive committee in 2019, he served as party treasurer between 2013 and 2017 and as director for the party's centre of political studies.

He also served as justice commissioner between 1991 and 1996.

Perici Calascione failed to get elected in this year's general election and had run for party leader in 2017.

Before his election to the party leadership in 2020, Bernard Grech had said he would like to see a female party deputy leader.

 MPs Graziella Galea and Janice Chetcuti and outgoing deputy leader David Agius were also being touted as nominees, however, none of them threw their names in the hat on Saturday.

The party has reduced the number of deputy leaders from two to one following recent changes to its statute.

The deputy leadership election is mandatory after the party heavily lost the last election and follows the leadership election that saw Grech reconfirmed with over 80 per cent of the vote.