[LIVE] Official results: 616 votes for Delia, 425 votes for Chris Said

The first round of voting drew to a close at 9pm • Total of 1,354 votes cast • Unofficial results place Adrian Delia first with 616 votes, Chris Said obtained 425 votes whilst Alex Perici Calascione got 296 votes • 11 votes for Frank Portelli

Last updated on 2 September 2017, 10:55pm
by Miriam Dalli / Paul Cocks / Denise Grech

5 min read

Adrian Delia emerged the winner of the first round of voting in the PN leadership election

The first round of voting in the Nationalist Party leadership election catapulted Adrian Delia into the lead, going into the second and final round of voting, which will be open to party members, in two weeks' time.

The voting drew to a close at 9pm, as party officials, canvassers and candidates’ aides could be seen waiting outside the Dar Centrali.

At 10.10pm, head of the electoral commission Joe Borg confirmed that a total of 1,226 eligible voters cast their vote today: 1,130 in Malta and 96 in Gozo. Adding the 128 votes cast during last week’s early voting, a total of 1,354 votes were cast. This means that only some 13 councillors did not vote.

When it became apparaent Delia had obtained the most votes from among the councillors, MPs Clyde Puli and Hermann Schiavone were seen to celebrate eurphorically amongst supporters and activists gathered on the main floor of the headquarters.

Hermann Schiavone celebrating on learning of Delia's victory

A euphoric Clyde Puli

[SLIDESHOW] Activists watch the game to while away the time (Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday)

Leadership contender Alex Perici Calascione

PN leadership election: who will make it through the first round?

Among the party officials was also outgoing PN leader Simon Busuttil, who spent his time chatting with those present.

The candidates slowly made their way to tal-Pieta while the result is expected at around 11pm.

In the meantime, activists and councillors who are not involved in the process gathered around a television screen inside the headquarters’ cafeteria to watch the World Cup qualifier between Italy and Spain.

The ballot box from Gozo reached the Dar Centrali at around 9.25pm as party officials started sorting through the votes for the reconciliation of votes.

Some 1,365 councillors were eligible to vote; 128 cast their vote during last Saturday’s early voting. Today’s first round ballot, which opened at 8am, was open to all members of the party’s General Council.

Busuttil and the four candidates bidding to succeed him cast their vote in the morning.

Two of the four candidates will pass on to a final round of voting on 16 September which will be open to all paid-up members (tesserati) for the first time in the party’s history.

PN leadership election: councillors vote in the first round today

[SLIDESHOW] Photography: James Bianchi/MediaToday

Voting also took place at the party’s sub-headquarters in Sannat Gozo, until 8pm.

Once the votes are counted, the two most voted candidates will pass on to the second round of voting in two weeks’ time.

But if the total number of votes obtained by the two least-voted candidates is more than those obtained by the candidate in second place, a second election will take place tomorrow. The fourth-placed candidate alone is eliminated and a supplementary round of voting will be held tomorrow for the top three candidates.

That supplementary election would follow the same pattern as today’s with ballot boxes in Pieta and Gozo open till 9pm and 8pm respectively.

Councillors vote

Jason Azzopardi and former Prime Minister and PN leader Lawrence Gonzi cast their votes at the PN headquarters in Pieta’ at 9.45am today.

128 people have already voted in the early PN election, which came about after Busuttil resigned following this year’s general election.

In the morning, the outgoing leader took to social media to urge councillors to vote. "I am sure they will vote with the party's interest firmly in mind,” he said.

Portelli voted early morning at around 10.15 am. "Today you can vote for more of the same, or for values," Portelli said on social media earlier this morning. He continued to urge councillors to vote, writing "The clique has support...all those who are not part of the clique, go vote please".

Said took to social media this morning, saying "the moment of choosing has finally arrived". "This is the first step in our party - a party that keeps on keeping on despite troubles that face us".

When he emerged from the party's headquarters after casting his vote, Said insisted that his election would mean a fight against "the only establishment - that of Joseph Muscat, Chris Cardona, Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri in Castille".

"We can't lose our credibility," Said warned. "If we lose our credibility, we end up with Labour Mark II."

There are 1,365 councillors eligible to vote in the first ballot. Of those, 128 have already voted last week, due to mitigating circumstances.

All four candidates are eligible to vote: Chris Said as a serving MP, Alex Perici Calascione as a party official, Frank Portelli as a former party official, and Adrian Delia as a member of the Lija sectional sub-committee.

The General Council is composed of:

Members of the Executive Committee
Serving Members of Parliament
Serving PN local councillors
Members of local administrative committees
Members of sectional committees
Elected Members of the Gozo Regional Committee
Voting members of the Executive Committee of the Moviment Zghzagh Partit Nazzjonalista (MZPN)
Voting members of the Executive Committee of the Moviment Nisa Partit Nazzjonalista
Voting members of the Executive Committee of the Solidarjeta’ Haddiema Partit Nazzjonalista
Voting members of the Executive Committee of the Assocjazzjoni Pensjonanti Anzjani Nazzjonalisti
Voting members of the Executive Committee of the party’s Small and Medium Business Forum
Voting members of the Executive Committee of the party’s Equal Opportunities Forum
Voting members of the Executive Committee of the party’s Professionals Forum
Candidates approved by the party for the general election
Candidates approved by the party for the European Parliament election
Former PN Members of Parliament and former MEPs
Former party officials

Miriam Dalli joined MaltaToday.com.mt in 2010 becoming assistant editor f...