UPDATE 2: Slow vote counting continues, but PN sees sixth seat going Labour
The General Secretary of the Nationalist Party said this evening he expected Labour to win four European Parliament seats to the PN's two. He made his statement on TV as the counting of votes of the European Parliament election continued at...
The General Secretary of the Nationalist Party said this evening he expected Labour to win four European Parliament seats to the PN's two.
He made his statement on TV as the counting of votes of the European Parliament election continued at Naxxar.
Marlene Mizzi, who is expected to win the fourth seat for Labour, inherited 323 votes with the elimination of Maria Camilleri, raising her tally to 18,289 votes. Joseph Cuschieri won 426 (20,299 votes) and Claudette Abela Baldacchino won 312 (12,864).
The rest of the 2,163 votes went to the other Labour candidates except for 27 to the PN candidates, 24 to Arnold Cassola and 13 to Norman Lowell.
Rudolph Cini was eliminated among the PN candidates, with 1,005 of his votes going to David Casa, 406 to Alan Deidun and 367 to Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas. Mr Casa now has 23,866 votes and Dr Metsola Tedesco Triccas, 10,755. The quota is 41,362. 112 of Mr Cini's second preferences went to Labour candidates.
Earlier, PN candidate Alex Perici Calascione was eliminated. 476 of his votes went to David Casa and 270 to Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas. The rest went to the other PN candidates except for 53 which went to PL candidates, 24 to Arnold Cassola and 15 to Norman Lowell.
Meanwhile, PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier said the PL was expected to win the sixth seat allocated to Malta in terms of the Lisbon Treaty.
That would mean that the PL is likely to have Louis Grech, Edward Scicluna, Joseph Cuschieri and Marlene Mizzi elected, with the other seats going to Simon Busuttil and David Casa of the PN.
So far only Dr Busuttil has been elected.
PL General Secretary Jason Micallef who like Dr Borg Olivier was speaking on BondiPlus, said it was too early to say if the PL would win their fourth seat.
Observers at Naxxar counting hall said that appeared likely, but one had to see how the votes of eliminated Labour candidates would be distributed.
In the elections held on Saturday, the PL won 15% more votes than the PN, the vote difference being of some 35,000 votes.