As the voting continues at Naxxar, here is how matters are developing. The focus now is on the eighth district where the PL may win a historic third seat.
District 1 (closed): Labour Party deputy leader Louis Grech was elected in the first count, obtaining 5,626 votes. Jose Herrera and Deo Debattista are also nearing the 3,782 quota needed to be elected. Outgoing MP Luciano Busuttil has fared dismally and will not be elected. David Farrugia Sacco has also disappointed. For the Nationalist Party, Mario de Marco is also elected with 4,448 votes, while Claudio Grech obtained 1,884 votes and Paula Mifsud Bonnici obtained 1,368 first count votes. Mifsud Bonnici bridged the gap with Grech when she earned more than 300 second preferences from Dr de Marco. Outgoing MP Jean Pierre Farrugia picked up just 1,119 votes. Farrugia was eliminated on the 21st count. Grech was elected on the 22nd at the expense of Mifsud Bonnici who had just 200 votes less.
Elected: Louis Grech (PL), Mario de Marco (PN), Jose Herrera (PL), Deo Debattista (PL), Claudio Grech (PN)
District 2 (closed): The two party leaders were elected on the first count but, as expected, in this Labour stronghold Joseph Muscat fared much better than Lawrence Gonzi. Muscat obtained 13,698 votes against Gonzi’s 4,616. Joe Mizzi was elected in the second count with the surplus votes recevied from Joseph Muscat. The battle now is for the two other places to be filled up by Labour with Stefan Buontempo and Helena Dalli leading the pack. They both made it through with the last candidate to be eliminated being Chris Agius, an outgoing MP who had 300 fewer votes than Buontempo on the 15th count. Stephen Spiteri (PN) has picked up many preferences from Lawrence Gonzi's votes but did not make it.
Elected: Joseph Muscat (PL), Joe Mizzi (PL) and Lawrence Gonzi (PN) Stefan Buontempo (PL), Helena Dalli (PL)
District 3 (closed): Owen Bonnici, popular as ever in this district, was the first to be elected with 4,316 votes for the Labour Party. George Vella, Carmelo Abela and Etienne Grech are to fill in the other places after picking up 2,103, 1,859 and 1,904 first count votes respectively. Abela surpassed Vella in subsequent counts to emerge as second best for Labour. All three were elected with Chris Fearne being the last PL candidate to be knocked out. Mario Galea picked up most votes for the Nationalist Party in this district with 2,520 votes, with former Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici second on 1,870. Mr Galea became the first and only PN MP to be elected from this district in the 15th count, with Mifsud Bonnici the last candidate standing on this district, 800 votes shy of the quota needed.
Elected: Owen Bonnici (PL) Mario Galea (PN), George Vella (PL), Carmelo Abela (PL), Etienne Grech (PL)
District 4 (closed): Leader Joseph Muscat ran away with the votes in this district too, winning 12,202 first count votes. Konrad Mizzi is a distant second with 1,002 votes - but was elected with the second preferences obtained from the leader - followed by Silvio Parnis on 978 votes who was eventually elected. Chris Fearne was the fourth PL candidate to be elected on this district on the 17th count. For the PN in this count Jason Azzopardi is the front-runner with 3,123 first count votes (he was eventually the only PN candidate to be elected), with Carm Mifsud Bonnici way back on 1,385 votes and Victor Scerri following on 1,206 votes. As happened on the third district, Mifsud Bonnici was the last candidate to be eliminated, this time just 500 votes short of the quota.
Elected: Joseph Muscat (PL), Konrad Mizzi (PL), Silvio Parnis (PL), Jason Azzopardi (PN), Chris Fearne (PL)
District 5 (closed): The man who wrote the PL’s manifesto, Karmenu Vella, was the most popular on this district and was elected on the first count with 5,231 votes. Joe Sammut and Marlene Farrugia are also likely to retain their seat in Parliament, having obtained 2,711 and 2,525 while MEP Edward Scicluna also picked up a considerable amount of votes, 1,707, and most likely will be elected as thr fourth PL candidate All of them made it by the 10th count. For the PN, Anthony Bezzina took the lead with 2,483 first count votes with Jason Azzopardi following closely behind on 2,041 votes, but Azzopardi, who was elected from the fourth, did not make it this time and was eliminated by just 300 votes. Both Emmanuel Delia ad MEP david Casa have fared badly.
Elected: Karmenu Vella (PL), Joe Sammut (PL), Marlene Farrugia (PL), Anthony Bezzina (PN), Edward Scicluna (PL)
District 6 (closed): Marie Louise Coleiro Preca is the most popular in this district, and was elected in the first count with 5,707 votes. Silvio Schembri was the second PL candidate to be elected, having won 2,823 votes. Roderick Galdes picked up 2,035 first count votes and was the last Labour candidate to be elected. This meant that former Labour deputy leader followed Charles Mangion was not elected along with Gavin Gulia who had been eliminated earlier. For the PN Clyde Puli was elected on the 12th count with newcomer Ryan Callus who mustered 1,595 first count votes being the other elected PN candidate in the 16th count.
Elected: Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca (PL), Roderick Galdes (PL), Silvio Schembri (PL), Clyde Puli (PN) and Ryan Callus (PN)
District 7 (closed): Another newcomer on this district, Dingli mayor Ian Borg, was the first to be elected with a staggering 4,186 votes. Godfrey Farrugia, another new face, got 2,089 votes while the third place in Parliament for Labour is a battle between two outgoing MPs – Charles Buhagiar and Gavin Gulia, and a third newcomer, Sandro Craus. Veteran Buhagiar scraped through on the last count -without managing a quota - with 600 more votes than Craus. PN leader Lawrence Gonzi garnered 7,260 first count votes and was elected, with outgoing minister Joe Cassar a distant second on 998 first count votes. Dr Cassar obtained more than 1,000 second preferences from Dr Gonzi and was elected on the 15th count.
Elected: Ian Borg (PL) Lawrence Gonzi (PN), Godfrey Farrugia (PL), Joe Cassar (PN), Charles Buhagiar (PL)
District 8 (closed): Chris Cardona has been elected for the PL while Edward Zammit Lewis will probably be elected as the second PL candidate having obtained 2,660 first count votes. Joe Debono Grech was out of the running, having picked up just 1,776 votes. Edward Scicluna made it on this district too this time by a mere eight votes more than Nationalist Party candidate Claudette Pace on the 15th count. Two Nationalist candidates were elected on the first count. Beppe Fenech Adami obtained 4,919 votes followed by outgoing Finance Minister Tonio Fenech with 4,465 votes. Claudette Buttigieg emerged as a strong third for the PN after picking up many second preferences from Beppe Fenech Adami. But she lost the battle for just eight votes.
Elected: Chris Cardona (PL) Tonio Fenech and Beppe Fenech Adami (PN), Edward Zammit Lewis (PL), Edward Scicluna (PL).
District 9 (closed): New Labour candidate Manuel Mallia went over the finishing line having obtained 2,950 first count votes and making it through on the 20th count, while veteran Leo Brincat was a distant second on 2,275 votes and was the last to be elected, without obtaining a quota. Former PL deputy leader Michael Falzon was third on 1,892 votes and was elected. He might make it throiugh the back door when Mallia gives one of the two districts he was elected from. For the PN, deputy leader Simon Busuttil was the first to be elected on this district with 6,672 votes, while George Pullicino and Robert Arrigo follow a distant second and third on 1,241 and 1,176 first count votes. They were eventually elected too. The battle for fourth place is highly interesting, as with the three PN MPs elected in two districts, at least one of them will give up his seat and therefore the fourth-placed is the PN candidate most likely to profit. PN president Marthese Portelli was the last candidate standing and should make it to the House when one of the three PN MPs elected on this district gives up his seat.
Elected: Simon Busuttil (PN), Manuel Mallia (PL), George Pullicino (PN), Robert Arrigo (PN), Leo Brincat (PL)
District 10 (closed): Manuel Mallia is again the front runner for Labour, obtaining 2,527 votes. The gap with the second here is smaller, as Evarist Bartolo obtained 2,497 first count votes, followed by Michael Falzon on 2,006. Mallia and Bartolo were both elected as Falzon was the last candidate to be eliminated. Falzon did not make the cut, but he could benefit from one of them relinquishing this district. George Pullicino was elected on the first count for the PN with 3,827 votes, and Robert Arrigo followed in the ninth count after having obtained 3,515 first count votes. Francis Zammit Dimech was a distant third on 2,169 votes but was elected as the third PN MP from this district in the 20th count.
Elected: George Pullicino (PN), Robert Arrigo (PN), Francis Zammit Dimech (PN), Evarist Bartolo (PL), Manuel Mallia (PL)
District 11 (closed) Anthony Agius Decelis fared better than his deputy leader Louis Grech, obtaining 3,319 votes against 3,178. Both were elected. Former PL general secretary Jason Micallef has fared dismally and did not make the cut. PN deputy leader Simon Busuttil was elected on the first count with 7,768 votes, with David Agius with 1,333 votes and Edwin Vassallo on 1,263 votes, while Joe cassar obrained 1,037 first count votes. Cassar made up the gap in subsequent counts and was elected from this district too along with Agius, while Vassallo did not retain his seat.
Elected: Simon Busuttil (PN), Anthony Agius Decelis (PL), Louis Grech (PL), David Agius (PN), Joe Cassar (PN)
District 12 (closed): Evarist Bartolo and Michael Farrugia have been elected for the PL with Deborah Schembri placing third and missing the cut. For the Nationalist Party, Tonio Fenech, and Michael Gonzi were elected in the 17th count with the votes inherited from PN candidate Claudette Buttigieg who was eliminated. Robert Cutajar (PN) was the next in line to be elected, with the surplus votes inherited from Michael Gonzi since he could not be overtaken by Deborah Schembri who was the only candidate left.
Elected: Evarist Bartolo (PL), Michael Farrugia (PL), Tonio Fenech (PN), Michael Gonzi (PN) and Robert Cutajar (PN)
District 13 (closed): Anton Refalo remained the strongest candidate for Labour in Gozo and was elected on the first count with 5,264 votes. Newcomer Franco Mercieca followed suit and was elected on the second count. Outgoing minister Giovanna Debono was elected on the first count with 4,756 votes, while another outgoing minister, Chris Said, was elected on the third count. The transfer of votes subsequently elected Justyne Caruana for the Labour Party with just nine more votes than Frederick Azzopardi for the PN.
Elected: Franco Mercieca (PL), Anton Refalo (PL), Justyne Caruana (PL), Giovanna Debono (PN) and Chis Said (PN)
Click here for the latest counts published by the Electoral Commission