The Nationalist Party commission vetting Adrian Delia and Bernard Grech as leadership candidates has formally announced that both are fit to stand for election after completing a due diligence exercise. 

In a letter to the party's electoral commission, the body said it had interviewed the two candidates at length and considered diligence reports from a panel of independent experts it had appointed according to the regulations.

The electoral commission subsequently confirmed that the election, which will be spread over five days, would end on October 3. 

Delia and Grech will have to formally submit their nominations as candidates by September 18. 

Following what is now set to be a three-week campaign, early voting will take place on September 25 and 26, followed by September 30 for those who require assistance voting, with the general ballot taking place between October 1 and 3. 

The electoral commission also announced that the renewal period for paid-up memberships would end on September 23 at 10am.

The election was triggered after Delia lost a confidence vote in the PN general council in August. Grech, a laywer and political outsider, was subsequently the only challenger to put his name forward for the election, paving the way for a two-horse race for the leadership. 

As part of the due diligence process, Delia and Grech were both asked to submit a series of documents including tax returns, bank statements for the last three years and a declaration of assets in the form of a questionnaire.

They were also requested to present documentation on any pending or past court cases they might have been involved in, as well as a full list of business interests.

During the course of this process, it emerged that Grech had been forced to settle almost €30,000 in dues on unpaid taxes spanning a number of years. 

Delia is himself no stranger to financial woes. In 2018, the tax authorities agreed on an €81,000 settlement with the PN and opposition leader for unpaid taxes, while Times of Malta reported last week how he had filed his 2018 income tax returns a year late. 

Earlier on Saturday, Delia complained that he was being sidelined in favour of his challenger by his own party's radio station after Net FM broadcast an interview with Grech in a time-slot usually reserved for the party leader. 

The electoral commission later confirmed that Delia had been offered a 45-minute slot which he declined.