Labour Party General Secretary Jason Micallef said today that the vote-counting process needed to be revamped because it was tedious and causing needless tension.

Replying to questions as the counting of votes in the European Parliament elections dragged on in Naxxar, Mr Micallef said Malta needed a system which was modern and produced a quicker result in line with European standards.

He refused to confirm that Labour is on course to win the fourth of the six European Parliament seats, but said that it appeared that the 35,000 vote majority achieved by Labour could translate in an even bigger triumph.

He also said it was not clear cut who of the Labour candidates would win the extra seat.

Observers said the battle was mainly between Marlene Mizzi and John Attard Montalto.

Mr Micallef made his comments as Nationalist Gozitan candidate Marthese Portelli was eliminated and her votes were distributed among the other candidates. Many of her votes appeared to be going to David Casa, further hurting Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas's chances for the third seat.

The observers also noted that a significant number of Marthese Portelli's votes cast in Gozo were non-transferable, with the preferences having been given either to Dr Portelli alone, or to her and fellow Gozitan Christian Zammit of the PL, who has been eliminated.