New Labour candidate Franco Mercieca, an ophthalmologist, has become the first candidate to be elected in the 2013 general election.

He made it with 3,969 first count votes on the 13th district (Gozo), coming in ahead of Labour's Gozo spokesman Anton Refalo.

The political parties are locked in a tight battle on this district, with the PN at risk of losing its third seat, which it has held since1955. That would be good news for serving Labour MP Justyne Caruana, who performed surprisingly badly and may not be re-elected. She won 2,756

Should the PN lose its third seat, its casualty is likely to be Frederick Azzopardi, with Giovanna Debono and Chris Said keeping their seats.

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