Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi this evening won 851 votes out of 882 cast in th PN leadership contest in which he was the only contender - 96.5%. In the 2004 contest which first elected him, he had won 94%.
The Nationalist Party said that 99.4% of eligible voters cast their ballot in the contest.
It said that 882 delegates cast their votes from a possible 887. A further 12 delegates did not pick up their voting document.
There were nine invalid votes and 22 votes against.
There was loud applause in the counting hall as the ballot papers, in packets of 25, were counted, concluding a contest which started at 11 a.m.
Dr Gonzi, who voted at about 1 p.m., received a standing ovation when he entered the conference hall for the formal announcement of the result by former minister Michael Refalo, chairman of the electoral committee. Those present then sang Ghax ghandna l-Gonzi maghna ahna maghqudin.
Franco Debono, the Nationalist MP whose abstention in last month's no-confidence vote in parliament sparked the contest, turned up shortly before 6.30 p.m. He appeared to be received cordially and left after a few minutes. He did not give comments.
Eddie Fenech Adami was among the first to vote, shortly before 11.30 a.m.
Earlier, when contacted, Dr Debono preferred not to comment on the ballot other than to say that one should look up the Bill on political parties and party funding, which he had campaigned for, drafted and presented in parliament as a private member's motion, to see how political parties in a modern European state should conduct their business.
He however reiterated his call for Constitutional and political reforms. "It is very unfortunate that in 2012, political parties remain the most unregulated bodies at Maltese law".
(Among other things, the Bill deals with minimum requirements for political parties and internal organisation ensuring compliance with democratic principles - see http://www.parlament.mt/motions_11 )
A queue of about 50 delegates formed just inside PN headquarters as balloting opened in the morning.
Former party leader Eddie Fenech Adami said he was backing Dr Gonzi, adding with a half smile that he was the only candidate.
Dr Gonzi needed to get the support of two-thirds of the vote in order to be considered elected at the first round.
VOTING DOCUMENTS UNCOLLECTED
MPs Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Jesmond Mugliett as well as EU Commissioner John Dalli and former PN council president Frank Portelli did not pick up their document. Only 12 voting documents were not picked up. Dr Portelli said he wanted to abstain in an open way. Dr Pullicino Orlando is suffering the flu. Mr Mugliett told TVM he opted not to vote so that no one would speculate on his vote. He said he did not feel that this was the method how the party should tackle the issues raised by Dr Debono.
Voting continued up to 8 p.m.
Dr Gonzi will tomorrow (Sunday) address a special meeting of the PN general council.
Earlier this week, Dr Gonzi had refrained from setting a threshold that would be politically acceptable to him in order not to put any pressure on the councillors.
He insisted that every councillor had the right to exercise his vote freely and setting a benchmark would have caused undue pressure.“This is a secret vote and I wanted it to be that way because the statute gave me another option to seek confirmation by acclamation as happens after every election. But I want councillors to decide in absolute liberty.”
Dr Gonzi was elected to the PN helm eight years ago with 808 votes from 859 votes cast in the second round of the leadership election (94%) after rival John Dalli withdrew and Louis Galea was eliminated.