Updated: Labour candidate tops Birkirkara vote

Labour candidate Joanne Borg has achieved the highest number of personal votes cast in last Saturday's local councils election, winning 2,986 first count votes in Birkirkara.

Birkirkara mayor Michael Fenech Adami, who had been expected to top that, got 2,826 votes.

Emanuel Aquilina and Rita Borg, both PL, were elected on the second count and Doris Borg and George Debattista, both PN, on the third.

Birkirkara is the largest locality where the elections were held.

The PN is leading Labour by about 1% in the Birkirkara vote and the contest is only expected to be decided once the votes of AD candidate Mario Mallia are transferred. AD won only a disappointing 448 votes, just over 3%.