Updated 7.55pm - Just over 15,000 members of the Nationalist Party have collected their voting documents for Saturday's leadership election.

The documents had to be collected by 6pm today.

The Nationalist Party said 18,000 members had been eligible to vote in the contest between Adrian Delia and Chris Said. The PN has around 22,000 members but around 4,000 are not fully paid-up.

This is the first time that the party membership of any major political party in Malta has a direct say in the election of the leader.

Dr Delia and Dr Said were shortlisted from a field of four candidates in the first phase of the election, where the party councillors were eligible to vote. Alex Perici Calascione and Frank Portelli were eliminated after obtaining the lowest number of votes in the secret ballot.

READ Adrian Delia leads, Chris Said second, as PN councillors vote for new leader

Dr Delia, a political rookie, got the highest number of votes, while Dr Said, a former minister and PN general secretary, placed second.  

Final debate this evening

The two candidates square off in a final debate this evening at 9pm. The hour-long debate will be broadcast on Net TV.

The national convention, which formally kicks off the voting process, starts tomorrow at party headquarters with Simon Busuttil's final address as party leader. 

Voting takes place on Saturday at the MFCC in Ta' Qali and the granaries in Floriana between 8am and 9pm and and at the sub-headquarters in Sannat between 8am and 8pm.

The winner is expected to be known early on Sunday morning. 

 

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