WATCH | Alex Borg wins PN election after five-hour wait

That's a wrap

It was a five hour wait but we now have an Opposition leader. We're wrapping up this live blog here. Thank you for following this rollercoaster of an evening with us. A more comprehensive write-up will be on our website shortly. Have a good rest of night, or at least what's left of it.

Borg's comments to the press

In a brief doorstep with journalists, Borg pledged to work alongside Delia and the party's parliamentary group. He said the PN needs to attract more people and promised to make meaningful changes within the party.

When asked by MaltaToday about the narrow lead, and whether this is a strong enough mandate to deliver his vision, Borg said he believes the party will unite behind its leader. 

Alex Borg is the official winner

Mario Callus is on television giving the official numbers. 17,862 people voted, of which there were 96 invalid votes. Alex Borg received 8,905 votes and Adrian Delia received 8,861. Alex Borg is officially the new leader of the Nationalist Party.

Tens of votes separate the candidates - PN electoral commission

Mario Callus, chairman of the electoral commission, is on Net Live saying that a preliminary result has been reached and only tens of votes separate the two candidates. 

This result is going to be passed on to the candidates before being published, and they will decide whether to accept the result or ask for a recount. 

Complaint from Adrian Delia

According to party sources, the party's electoral commission received a complaint from Adrian Delia. After taking note of it, the vote counting process got underway. This is not a recount because vote counting had not yet been done even though votes were already grouped in packets of 50. After the counting ends, the commission will issue an official result and then it will be up to candidates to decide whether to accept it or ask for a recount if the result is very close.

However, the electoral commission has not published any official statement on the matter, nor has it published a result. 

Electoral Commission will count the individual ballots

We finally have another update, and it looks like a recount. The votes for Delia and Borg have been split up accordingly and filed in piles of 50. Shortly, the party's Electoral Commission will enter the hall and hand-count the votes themselves so that they can determine the official result. 

Violence towards Labour Party journalists

Earlier, a journalist and camera person from Labour's One News ended up on the receiving end of some abuse while reporting outside PN headquarters. The Institute for Maltese Journalists has since published a statement condemning the "violent and intimidating behaviour" and calling on the PN to make sure that journalists are protected at these events.. "Any behaviour that deters a journalist from carrying out his or her duties without fear is repulsive in a democracy," the IĠM said.

PN insists that it's still too close to call

We're still waiting for an official result to be announced by the PN's electoral commission. A spokesperson has just told us that the party is not calling a result yet as it's too close to call through a sample. 

Borg declares victory, but Delia yet to concede

Adrian Delia has not yet conceded the race, but sources are telling MaltaToday that the two teams that were collecting the data had similar numbers that convinced Borg's aides that he could declare victory.

The view from Dar Ċentrali

There's a happy crowd outside Dar Ċentrali cheering for the Nationalist Party. Here's what it looks like from our media room.

'Alex Borg il-mexxej'

People outside Dar Ċentrali are cheering for Alex Borg and lighting flares. It seems that his team and supporters are confident of a win. 

Meanwhile in the counting hall, the hand-count is still taking place. Adrian Delia is yet to concede too.

Alex Borg declares victory

Official counting starts

Voting agents have started counting the individual ballots and will group them into piles of 50. This should bring us to an official result, and the process should be quicker than the sorting run we've just passed through.

Ballots sorted, but no victory yet

All of the votes have been sorted into the candidates' respective piles, but since the gap is so close, the party will be organising a proper hand-count of the votes. So far, what we have seen so far is just a continuation of the sorting process, with party officials counting the ballots informally during the sorting process.

The latest information we have from party sources is that the gap stands at 194 votes, with Alex Borg leading. However, his team has not called a victory yet.

Indeed, it appears that none of the candidates will declare anything before all votes are counted by hand.

Less than 250 votes between the candidates

At around 15,000 votes casted, PN sources say that there is a 246-vote difference between the candidates, with Alex Borg still in the marginal lead.

The gap continues to narrow

We're around the 13,000-vote mark, and sources are saying that the gap stands at around 1.8%, with Borg still in the lead.

Alex Borg leading at 51%

Around 11,000 votes have been counted, and PN sources are telling us that Alex Borg is in the lead with around 51% of the vote. However, it is still too close to call.

Borg leading by 3%

With over 50% of votes counted, we're hearing that Alex Borg is marginally ahead with a 3% lead with over Adrian Delia, but the race is still too close to call.

People gathering outside PN headquarters

A crowd is starting to gather outside Dar Ċentrali, some of them chanting. The counting is still underway and no one has claimed victory yet.

Alex Borg appears ahead

Sources from inside the hall indicate that Alex Borg is slightly ahead of Adrian Delia, with over 6,000 votes counted so far. Over 17,000 votes were cast.

Counting kicks off

Volunteers have started counting the votes, holding up each ballot to confirm validity and then sorting them between Adrian Delia and Alex Borg.

Counting process soon underway

We are coming closer to the start of the counting process. All boxes have been opened and the last ballots are being sorted, according to Mario Callus, the chairperson of the PN's electoral commission.

Once the last ballots are sorted, the counting can start. 

Photos from the counting hall

The sorting process is still underway—there are 17,862 votes to sort after all. The counting hall is also under strict security, with not even journalists and photographers allowed in. But here is a peek into the process as boxes continue to be opened and ballots sorted, with photos provided by the Nationalist Party.

Bernard Grech will stay on as an MP

The outgoing Opposition Leader told party media earlier that he will stay on as an MP after today.

Grech stepped down from the party leadership last June after a MaltaToday survey showed a vote gap of 39,000 votes between the PN and the PL.

He was elected to the role in 2020 in a two-way race between him and Adrian Delia, who is trying for the role once again.

Grech will deliver a final speech to party members later tonight once a new party leader has been confirmed.

Sorting begins

Volunteers are beginning to sort the ballots in the counting hall. With around three volunteers on each table, they're picking up individual ballots from a bunch in the middle of their tables and organising them into separate piles for easy counting.

Who are the candidates?

As we wait for the counting process to kick off, let’s take a look at who the candidates are.

You surely remember Adrian Delia, who previously led the PN between 2017 and 2020, This is his third time contesting a PN leadership election, having contested succesfully in 2017 and unsuccessfully in 2020, when he lost to Bernard Grech.

Then there’s Alex Borg, long considered Delia’s political protege. He is the youngest candidate to contest the PN leadership in recent years, and a relatively new face to the political arena. He was elected to parliament for the first time in 2022.

What happens next?

The voting boxes have arrived at Dar Ċentrali and are being prepared for the counting process. After that, it will be a slightly tedious process to count each vote and find out who the elected winner is. During the counting process, the doors of Dar Ċentrali will be closed off.

Once the process is over, the doors will open to members and the PN General Convention will continue. Opposition leader Bernard Grech will give a speech, followed by a speech from his successor, whoever that will be.

Photos from Dar Ċentrali

Earlier, party members were socialising outside Dar Ċentrali as they wait for the counting process to kick off. Members were drinking beer and eating food as they celebrate the end of a summer-long election campaign.

Turnout at 86%

According to the PN's Electoral Commission, around 86% of eligible members turned out to vote in this election. This appears to be the highest turnout in a PN leadership election, according to PN officials.

MaltaToday is informed that two surveys held this week with Nationalist Party members, showed the number of undecided voters stood at around 30%. With this being the highest turnout reported, it appears the candidates managed to mobilise voters.

We're reporting live from Dar Ċentrali, which is buzzing with energy as party members help themselves to food and beer from stalls outside the party's headquarters. The leader hopefuls were also seen socialising with members as their campaign reaches a climax.

Good evening! Welcome to our live blog on the Nationalist Party's leadership election. We will be sharing live updates here as the night goes on and we found out who will be the next PN kap and Opposition leader.