As it happened: Alex Borg wins PN leadership contest by just 44 votes
Drama as wafer-thin majority leaves contest hanging for hours
Alex Borg clinched the PN leadership in dramatic fashion, defeating Adrian Delia by just 44 votes.
In the tightest leadership contest in the party’s history, the 30-year-old Gozitan lawyer secured 50.1% of members’ votes. A total of 96 votes were ruled invalid in an election which saw 86% of members turning out to vote.
The wafer-thin margin kept rival camps on edge until nine hours after the polling closed.
It was a very late night. At 1am, Borg declared a “new chapter” for the PN in a social media post, but party officials insisted the race was still too close to call.
The PN Electoral Commission later opted to re-check the ballots, though the party maintained this was not a recount, amid widespread criticism from the public that the process had turned farcical.
At 4am, Borg was formally confirmed as leader.
"From tomorrow, I will start working to unite the party and to deliver our vision. We need to draw more people to the PN. I will not deliver just cosmetic changes," Borg told reporters.
The Gozitan MP pledged to work alongside Delia and the PN parliamentary group.
His social media announcement initially sparked celebrations outside PN headquarters, but the mood soon ebbed as uncertainty over the result dragged on.
Borg’s rise within the PN has been meteoric. Elected to parliament in 2022 on his first attempt, he will now take the party into the next general election as its youngest-ever leader.
Often described as Delia’s protégé, Borg surprised many by entering the race directly against his former mentor. Party insiders had previously suggested the two had agreed not to contest against each other.
Throughout his campaign, Borg argued the PN needed “generational change” and a winning mentality to challenge Labour’s long dominance at the polls.
Borg is now officially the youngest leader of a major political party in Malta, after he won the PN leadership contest.
He will take over from Bernard Grech who announced his resignation in June, with months ticking to the next general election.
Borg wins
4am The PN electoral commission has finally announced the result. Alex Borg obtained 8,904 votes and Adrian Delia got 8,861 votes. That's just a 50.1% majority. Could it be any closer?
Alex Borg mobbed by fans at 4.30am. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli'Publish the result' - Debono
3.50am Former PN MP and criminal lawyer Franco Debono has urged the Electoral Commission to publish the official result so that this process is not further ridiculed.
In a post on social media, he said: "If someone disagrees with the result, they have every right to contest it in the appropriate fora.... Let’s not forget this process was expected to be concluded around five hours ago. In the name of fairness, publish the result. It's 3.30am."
What happens now?
3.35am We’re still here, though updates remain scarce. What we know is that the official result has been handed to the two contenders, and it appears one of the teams - we understand it's Delia's - has raised objections over the electoral process. The details are unclear, and so is what happens if one contender refuses to accept the outcome.
'We have a winner'
2.40am The chair of the Electoral Commission, Mario Callus, announced that they have the preliminary result of the winner, which shows that one of the candidates won by a "tens of votes".
This result will be shared with both candidates, and they will be given a short period of time to decide whether they agree that the result can be published or not.
We don't know what will happen if one of the candidates doesn't accept the result.
A recount?
2.15am Some info has trickled in. Net TV said the party's Electoral Commission will hand-count the votes so they can determine the official result. The PN spokesman is insisting this is not a recount. We're not sure how long this is going to take.
Meanwhile, former PL deputy leader Daniel Micallef compared the PN contest with the last time the Labour Party chose its leader in 2020.
“There is a complete vacuum of information. No official statement. No number except the turnout on the PN’s official page."
While acknowledging that a close result creates a difficult situation, Micallef said this is why the party needs to decide, lead, and communicate.
Waiting for...
2am For those still with us, we’re waiting on an update. Our reporter Marc Galdes, along with the rest of the press pack, remains shut in a room at PN HQ with scant information trickling through. The plan had been for Bernard Grech to speak first, followed by the winner. Whether that will actually happen, or when we’ll finally get the official result, is anyone’s guess.
Meanwhile, Momentum chair Arnold Cassola described the whole situation as “surreal”. He said despite Alex Borg declaring victory and news agencies reporting that Borg is victorious by a small margin, the PN has said nothing.
“For how much longer must we stare at a mute NET TV, staring at boxes with music in the background?” he asked.
'Not official yet'
1.30am PN spokesperson Nathaniel Attard has confirmed that only a few dozen votes separate the two contenders.
He said the result is not yet official but could not comment on why Borg felt he should upload a post on social media.
'A weak leadership' - PL president
1.20am Labour Party president Alex Sciberras said that whoever is elected leader does not have the support of the majority of the PN’s paid-up members.
“If a few more than 43 per cent of eligible paid-up members gave their support for the new leader, we are immediately speaking of a weak leadership from the start. If you are not trusted by your own supporters how can you be in a position to offer a credible alternative for the Maltese people”.
Sciberras’s calculations come from adding the people who did not vote for the winning candidate, together with the 14 per cent or so of paid up members who did not vote.
Alex Borg supporters celebrating
1.05am Borg supporters outside Dar Ċentrali are lighting flares and chanting 'Alex tagħna il-mexxej, hallelujah'.
Adrian Delia is yet to concede. We understand the gap between the two is literally a few dozen votes. This couldn't get more dramatic.
Borg: 'A new chapter for PN'
1am In what is believed to be a declaration of victory, Alex Borg has thanked supporters through a social media post. "Thank you for your support as we begin a new chapter for the Nationalist Party.”
Six hours and counting
12.50am General elections have been wrapped up faster than this. It’s frankly absurd for an opposition party to still be deciding the election of its leader with 18,000 voters at 12.50am, six hours after the voting closed. As one social media user quipped, by the time the result is out, the infamous Ta’ Qali grass will have grown back, leaving the new leader with nothing left to say.
The social media post.It's complicated
12.40am We've spoken to officials from both camps and this could get complicated. We're informed that the gap between Borg and Delia could be down to less than 100 votes. A candidate is within their rights to ask for a recount if the gap is wafer-thin. There's particular focus on the votes which were declared as 'doubtful'.
A tiny gap
12.30am We're informed that the gap between the two candidates is down to a few dozen votes, with Borg leading. The sorting process is done but we need to wait for the official results.
It's still close
12am With 13,600 votes counted, Alex Borg is leading with just 132 votes.
Commotion outside HQ
11.45pm There was some commotion outside the PN quarters where dozens of supporters are waiting for the result. At one point, a man was seen pushing a ONE News cameraman.
Labour Party president Alex Sciberras has condemned the incident.
The Institute for Maltese Journalists also condemned the "violent and intimidating behaviour" by people outside the Nationalist Party HQ towards journalists, particularly a journalist and camera person representing Labour's One News.
"Any behaviour that deters a journalist from carrying out his or her duties without fear is repulsive in a democracy."
It's neck and neck
11.30pm With 10,500 votes counted, Alex Borg is leading with just 124 votes, according to our sources. This is going to be a nail-biter.
It's very close
11.20pm Our sources inside the hall say out of the 7,400 votes counted, Alex Borg is leading with 51.4%. That means the result is still too close to call. We don't know if that includes any votes from Gozo, where Borg is expected to get the lion's share of the vote.
Supporters gathering
11.10pm As the vote-counting process continues, PN supporters are gathering outside the Pieta quarters. They're not allowed inside the building until the counting is over. This is going to be a late night.
Photo: Matthew MirabelliAlex Borg marginally ahead
11pm A PN source inside the hall tells us that with 4,500 votes counted, Alex Borg is ahead of Adrian Delia by 180 votes. This could be very close.
Counting underway
10.40pm Counting is underway. Volunteers are holding up each ballot to show whether it’s for Borg, Delia, or invalid. Observers inside the hall say the race looks relatively close so far, but it’s early days, and the picture could shift as more votes are tallied.
Thousands of votes are being manually counted. Photo: NetAnd still waiting...
10.25pm... But the sorting has just started. And about time too! At this rate, the PN’s new leader could miss tomorrow's front pages. But we'll keep you updated online.
Rally behind the new leader - Gonzi
10pm Former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi said the next leader has a major challenge ahead in a world facing major challenges. He urged supporters to rally behind the new leader and asked them to unite even if the chosen one was not the one they voted for.
Waiting...
9.50pm While the sorting process has started, the actual counting of the votes hasn't. You'd think there were millions of votes to be sorted!
The sorting process. Photo: PNProcess starts
8.40pm All the voting boxes have arrived at Dar Ċentrali and are being prepared for the counting process, and we're informed this could take a while. During the counting process, the doors to the HQ will be closed.
Once the winner is announced, the doors will be opened to members. Bernard Grech is expected to give a speech, followed by a speech from his successor.
Who's vying for the post?
8.30pm: Should he win the race, this will be Adrian Delia’s second term as leader after his first tenure ended in disarray five years ago.
Delia, a lawyer by profession, entered politics in 2017 to immediately contest the party leadership. His tumultuous three-year tenure came to a head when 17 of the party's MPs openly called for his removal and tried, unsuccessfully, to have him removed as Opposition leader.
He was then defeated in a PN leadership challenge that saw Bernard Grech take over in October 2020.
However, Delia soldiered on and managed to make inroads into the party by pledging loyalty to his successor and earning support largely due to his pivotal role in the Vitals case, where he led a long legal battle to expose corruption tied to the controversial hospitals deal.
After Grech announced he was leaving the PN leadership role, and after European Parliament president Roberta Metsola president made it clear she had no intention to run for the post, Delia announced his intention to take over the party reins a second time. During the campaign, he managed to win back some of his biggest critics.
Adrian Delia and Alex Borg outside the party quarters on Friday. Photo: Matthew MirabelliAlex Borg, who celebrated his 30th birthday during his leadership campaign, was first elected to parliament three years ago. In the 2022 general election, Borg secured 6,100 votes on the 13th district (Gozo), some 2,000 more than Nationalist Party old hand Chris Said.
Borg, often seen as Delia’s protege, surprised many when he announced his candidacy for the party leadership, thus coming up directly against his mentor even if party sources said the two had agreed not to run against each other.
A lawyer, Borg has spent much of his campaign arguing that the PN needed a ‘generational change’ and a winning mentality.
Should he be elected Borg will be the youngest Labour or Nationalist leader in Malta’s post-independence history.
'Next leader will have to open up further'
8pm In comments to party media, outgoing party leader Bernard Grech said he had beautiful memories of the last five years when he led the party.
“I had the opportunity to work with workers of the party and its media, volunteers, activists and all those who want to see the PN as an alternative government."
He said the new leader will have to open up the party further to win the general election.
Asked what advice he had for his successor, Grech said the new leader should be “inclusive”, but said a new leader alone will not change things. The PN faithful had a role to play.
“We need to understand that we all have our responsibilities. After electing the new leader, everyone needs to understand that they give their contribution to the party in any way."
Outgoing PN leader Bernard Grech with well-wishers at the PN quarters.The calm before the storm
7.55pm Our reporter Marc Galdes is at PN quarters. But there isn't much to report so far. The reporters have been asked to stay in a room with access to Net TV.
The scene outside the PN HQ after voting closed. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli
86% turnout
7.45pm A total of 86% of paid-up members voted in this election, the PN has just announced. That's the same percentage of voters who cast their preference in the 2020 leadership election. Of course, we still have to see how many invalid votes are among those.
Rallying call
7.25pm The PN's media arm is urging supporters to meet on Sunday at 10.30am at the Pieta headquarters to meet the new party leader.
Picture of unity
7.15pm: As soon as the voting process came to a close, both the Delia and Borg camps have been projecting an image of unity. As soon as the voting process closed, Borg posted a picture of himself shaking hands with Delia, flanked by dozens of supporters outside the PN quarters.
The two contenders with supporters outside the PN quarters.Earlier
The 30-year-old Borg has campaigned on a platform of youth and renewal, while Delia, a 56-year-old former PN leader, has trumpeted his battle-hardened experience.
Adrian Delia, Bernard Grech and Alex Borg pictured on Friday. Photo: Beppe GaleaOutgoing leader Bernard Grech, PN deputy leader Alex Perici Calascione, former Opposition leader Lawrence Gonzi and PN general secretary Charles Bonello are among frontline Nationalists to have cast their vote in the morning.
Around four-fifths of PN voters – some 20,600 members – had cast their ballot in early voting earlier this week.
In the 2020 leadership election, a total of 18,378 paid-up party members cast their votes. With approximately 21,499 eligible voters, this amounted to an 86% turnout.
The leadership election was on the horizon from back in June, when Bernard Grech announced his intention to step down as party leader.
Bernard Grech voting Saturday in Tarxien. Photo: PN.His resignation came two days after a damning survey by MaltaToday, which suggested that PN support had nosedived, with Grech’s trust in freefall.
Borg and Delia formally submitted their nominations last month.
The next leader will be the fourth for the PN since 2013. Lawrence Gonzi resigned in 2013, passing on the baton to Simon Busuttil. Adrian Delia was elected in 2017, with Bernard Grech assuming charge of the opposition in 2022.