Updated at 6.10pm

Nationalist Party general councillors who called a confidence vote in party leader Adrian Delia have decried "divisive and harmful manoeuvres" ahead of the July 27 vote. 

In a statement on Saturday, former executive committee president Mark Anthony Sammut, and councillors Emvin Bartolo, Ivan Bartolo, Martin Musumeci and Emma Portelli Bonnici said the list of those eligible for the vote remained riddled with omissions and inaccuracies. 

The party however reacted by slamming the group's "conspiracy theories" and saying the unfounded allegations would only serve to undermine the democratic voting process. 

The councillors said that, a week before the vote and days before early voting on Wednesday, the list was missing entire localities, as well as missing ID card numbers and featuring outdated addresses. 

They claimed that this had been done deliberately to make it difficult or impossible for them to communicate their message to other councillors. 

500 councillors changed

Moreover, they said, it had emerged that some 500 of the 1,500-strong general council had been changed in the 18 months since Dr Delia was elected party leader, with several of the changes “arousing suspicion”. 

“Several councillors who have been removed have not even been informed of their removal. These are long-standing activists who have made great sacrifices for the party,” the councillors said.

“They have been removed to be replaced by people like Julian Micallef, a person close to Adrian Delia who has been revealed this week to be behind a network of fake profiles used to attack PN MPs and even its former leader," the group claimed.

Earlier this week, a letter circulated on social media alleged that Mr Micallef had instructed a PN member to create fake Facebook profiles to attack Dr Delia's critics. 

Mr Micallef has denied those claims and told Lovin Malta he is considering legal action.

PN slams councillors' 'conspiracy theories' 

The party hit back at the councillor's claims, saying they were drumming up tension needlessly and spreading unfounded allegations. 

There was nothing untoward in the way new members had joined the party's general council over the past two years, the PN said. 

"As required by the statute, over the past two years party branches and committees have held elections which led to changes in the general council's composition. Other changes came about due to local council election results and the government's decision to end councils for hamlets," the party said.

It also dismissed suggestions that voting lists were not being scrutinised correctly and said those calling for Dr Delia to step aside had received a final list of eligible voters on Saturday. 

The list of eligible voters had been verified by the party's electorial commission, the PN said, which featured representatives of both camps. 

PN electoral commission president Francis Zammit Dimech said just as much in a statement earlier in the day. 

Dr Zammit Dimech added that councillors who felt they had been wrongly left off the list could contact the electoral commission until Tuesday at noon, and that the commission would carry out the necessary checks. 

Similarly, anyone who had not yet paid their membership (tessera) could do so online or at party headquarters until Wednesday at noon. 

Delia: ‘We will come out of this stronger’

Party leader Adrian Delia insisted the party would come out of the general council ready to begin a reform process that would make it more organised, active and better able to function. 

“We must go through this process to emerge stronger, and then begin a process of reforms that will allow anyone of good faith to work for the good of the party,” he said during an interview on Net on Saturday.  

Dr Delia insisted that while the contentious process leading up to the general council had been ongoing, the party had remained active, highlighting its comments on the Fortina project and the Marsa horse racing track. 

He said he had also written to the Prime Minister to inform him that the Opposition was ready to continue working through the summer for the setting-up of a public inquiry into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, but had received no reply.