On Thursday, Charles Bonello was appointed the Nationalist Party’s new secretary general with 84 per cent of votes cast, but party critics and Labour pundits raised doubts over the result, claiming the victory was far less encouraging than it appeared.

Of the 70 members on the PN’s executive committee who were present for the election, 56 voted for him and 11 voted against. Three votes were invalid.

But in reality, 88 members were eligible to vote – not 70 – prompting critics to question why 18 voters did not show up for the vote, with some saying that essentially 32 voters (11 who voted against, three whose vote was invalid and 18 who did not show up) did not vote for Bonello, despite the fact that he was the only horse in the race.

That means that technically, almost 40% of all eligible voters did not vote for him, the critics argued, because 18 of them, including Lawrence Gonzi – Bonello’s own boss – failed to show up for the vote, prompting criticism over deepening party divisions.

Times of Malta looked into the numbers in an attempt to understand who did not show up and whether they formed part of some faction that was unhappy with Bonello being anointed as the only candidate in the election.

Times of Malta understands that of the 18 voters who did not show up, 12 were abroad for personal reasons. Among these, Gonzi himself, who was travelling for personal work. The party statute allows members to vote remotely only if they are travelling on party-related work.

Party sources said another three could not attend due to health reasons, and another three were Gozitans caught up with work on the sister island and were unable to make it for the vote.

Having said all this, some members showed up on Thursday and disapproved of Bonello’s appointment  – at least 11 of whom voted against him. It remains unclear who these voters are.

In a reply to questions, the PN said the result was “a strong vote of confidence” in Bonello, and that it reflected significant support and signalled ongoing renewal within the PN.

The votes were tallied according to standard democratic election procedures, and while not all members were able to attend due to various reasons, like illness or travel, those present participated fully in the vote, it said.

A one-horse race

Bonello, who has served as president of the PN’s College of Local Councillors and is a Fgura local councillor, has a history of political involvement, including serving as private secretary to former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.

He also contested the 2017 general election for the PN.

His election follows Michael Piccinino’s decision to step down in September, to contest the next general election.

But finding Piccinino’s successor has been a bumpy ride since.

Back then the party’s media head, Karl Gouder, confirmed he intended to run for the post. However, he shockingly and abruptly died just days later.

Then in December, Santa Luċija councillor Liam Sciberras confirmed he was eyeing the role, and last month so did Gudja councillor Stefan Caruana. Both were contesting the role with Bonello, who had confirmed his interest in the role a few days earlier.

But the race became uncontested after both Sciberras and Caruana withdrew their nomination by February’s end, fuelling allegations from party insiders that the PN had effectively anointed Bonello by discouraging other candidates from running, thereby denying voters a genuine, democratic choice.

Within the PN structure, the general secretary is essentially the party CEO and is responsible for finances and the day-to-day running of the organisation and is often also involved in political strategy and policy drafting.