Official first count results issued this morning show that the PL won 54.77 percent of the first count votes to the PN's 40.49 percent.
The PL won 135,917 votes to the PN's 100,486.
A total of 254,039 votes were cast, of which 5,870 were invalid. The quota is 41,362.
The PL was initially reported (by PN General Secretary Paul Borg Olivier) to have won 57 percent of the vote, based on fist samples. The result means a strong gain for the PL, which in 2004 won 48.42 percent of the vote. The PN improved its position, albeit slightly, from 39.76 percent in 2004. The biggest loser was Alternattiva Demokratika, which got a quarter of the votes it achieved in 2004. AD got 5,802 (2.34 percent), Imperium Europa, 3,638 (1.47 percent) and AN 1,602 (0.64 percent). The others obtained a total of 434 votes (0.17 percent).
GRECH LEADS LABOUR CANDIDATES
Louis Grech led the PL candidates with 27,753 first count votes compared to 15,371 when he was first elected to the EP five years ago. He is followed by Edward Scicluna, Joseph Cuschieri and Marlene Mizzi, all contesting for the first time. The results indicate that John Attard Montalto and Glenn Bedingfield are likely to lose their seats.
BOTH PN MEPs EXPECT RE-ELECTION
In the Nationalist camp, Simon Busuttil was the runaway winner with 68,782 votes. David Casa won 6,539 (2004 = 8,782) He is expected to retain his seat while Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas is in the running for the sixth seat allocated for Malta in terms of the Lisbon Treaty, although this is not a certainty and depends on vote transfers. She is followed by Marthese Portelli.
CANDIDATES' FIRST COUNTS
AD: Yvonne Arqueros Ebejer, 567 and Arnold Cassola, 5,235;
AN: Josie Muscat, 1,426, Malcolm Seychell, 101 and John Spiteri Gingell, 68;
PL: Claudette Abela Baldacchino, 12,309, John Attard Montalto, 12,880, Glenn Bedingfied, 4,982, Steve Borg, 1,187, Maria Camilleri, 2,031, Joseph Cuschieri, 19,672, Sharon Ellul Bonici, 6,051, Louis Grech, 27,753, Kirill Micallef Stafrace, 2,692, Marlene Mizzi,17,724, Edward Scicluna, 24,574 and Christian Zammit, 4,062.
PN: Simon Busuttil, 68,782, David Casa, 6,539, Rudolph Cini, 1,761, Alan Deidun, 3,239, Edward Demicoli, 1,180, Vince Farrugia, 4,056, Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas, 5,880, Alex Perici-Calascione, 1,345, Frank Portelli, 2,459 and Marthese Portelli, 5,245.
Libertas: Mary Gauci, 298;
Imperium Europa: Norman Lowell, 3,559 (2004 = 1,603), Rueben Attard, 78;
Alpha Liberal: Emmy Bezzina, 118;
Alleanza Liberali: John Zammit, 189;
K.U.L. Ewropa: Cecil Herbert Jones, 47;
Tal-Ajkla: Nazzareno Bonnici, 80.
FULL LIST AND COMPARISONS:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/mepelections/view/20090608/news/this-years-first-count-votes-as-compared-to-2004-ep-elections