Etienne Grech was returned to Parliament after a long battle with Stefan Buontempo and Andy Ellul which led to several recounts.

In the fourth count, Etienne Grech established a slight lead with 1,410 votes, but two other candidates, Andy Ellul and Stefan Buontempo each obtained 1,243 votes after the elimination of three candidates - Joe Cilia, Dominic Grima and Rita Sammut.

When candidates obtain an equal number of votes, a recount takes place to confirm the result.

The recount however gave Stefan Buontempo three more votes than Andy Ellul, but the situation was not immediately resolved. A second recount had Buontempo with one extra vote and a third recount was requested by Ellul, which confirmed that Buontempo had obtained more votes than Ellul.

Ellul was eliminated, and his votes were transferred to Grech and Buontempo, which led to Grech retaining his seat in Parliament while Buontempo lost it.