The casual election on the seventh district to fill in the seat vacated by former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is likely to be a three-horse race.

Dr Gonzi resigned from Parliament on July 17 after a 25-year career, in which he had also served as Speaker and Leader of the Opposition.

In total, seven candidates have submitted their nomination, with the count taking place on Tuesday morning in Naxxar.

The candidate who obtained the highest number of first count votes after Dr Gonzi in the general election was former parliamentary secretary Tony Abela with 445 preferences.

David Vassallo was next with 378 votes while former parliamentary assistant Peter Micallef was third with 328 votes.

Other candidates are Antoine Borg, Rudolph Grima, Philip Mifsud and Edwin Vassallo.

The latter was very unlucky not to be elected in the casual election in the eleventh district when he lost out against Charlo Bonnici.

Even though Mr Vassallo obtained 1,263 first-count votes, and Mr Bonnici a modest 503, it was the latter who secured the seat vacated by former health minister Joe Cassar. In such cases the result may hinge on the candidates’ surname, with those at the top of the ballot sheet enjoying a slight advantage.

Though it might look trivial, a significant number of voters simply mark their preferences from top to bottom.

In this case, Dr Abela is better placed than the other contestants.