Adrian Delia has won the PN leadership election, becoming the new leader of the Nationalist Party.

Delia's supporters were celebrating at the Floriana Granaries following the initial sampling.

Polling stations closed in the election by 9 pm Saturday, and 95% of people who collected their voting documents voted in the election.

Chairperson of the PN Electoral Commission Joe Borg said that in total there were 19,350 eligible voters, however 3,849 PN paid members did not pick up their vote. This meant that 15,501 were able to vote.

There were 2,597 early voters, while 12,145 voted today. In total 14,742 votes were cast and 759 did not vote

There were 14,666 valid votes and 76 invalid votes.

7,734 votes went to Delia (52.7% of the vote), 6,932 votes went to Said.

Boxes filled with votes from Gozo, the MFCC in Ta'Qali, and boxes containing early votes arrived at the Floriana Granaries at around 10 pm. The sorting of votes began at 10.45 pm, and all boxes were open by 11.20 pm. Sorting of votes concluded at around midnight and the votes begun being counted at 00.10 am.

The 12 week campaign originally saw four contenders face-off against each other. The four then turned to two, as PN councillors voted for Chris Said and Adrian Delia to pass through to the final round of voting which occurred today. Alex Perici Calascione and Frank Portelli were the two candidates who did not pass through the first phase. PN paid members were allowed to vote in this final round.

PN paid members today descended onto the Floriana Granaries, the MFCC in Ta' Qali and Sannat Gozo to cast their vote. While voting in Gozo ended at 8 pm, in Malta voting ended at 9 pm.

Today's voting did not exactly go smoothly, with delays and long queues reported at some of the voting areas during the day on Saturday.

Announcements made showed that 1,396 people voted in this election in Gozo, not including those who voted in the early voting.

A number of PN supporters waited outside the vote counting tents at the Floriana Granaries, and eagerly awaited any news and result indications. A number of supporters exploded into Delia chants when the sampling of votes showed a Delia lead. The granaries will be used for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations. A number of MPs and high-end party officials were seen during the vote sorting and counting process, including Deputy Leaders Beppe Fenech Adami, and Mario de Marco, PN Whip David Agius, Executive President Ann Fenech, Secretary General Rosette Thake, MPs Jean Pierre Debono, Kristy Debono, and Toni Bezzina. 

Both Chris Said and Adrian Delia have gone around the country holding press conferences and meeting with paid members to discuss their ideas on the future of the party. The election has, however, not been a quiet one, with allegations being made and situations becoming, at times, heated.

In a Facebook post this afternoon, Chris Said said that he trusts the PN paid members, and said that from tomorrow they will work hand-in-hand to work for the party.

Adrian Delia in a Facebook post of his own thanked people who supported him, and said that regardless of the result, the PN will be the winner.

Photos by Michael Camilleri. Videos by Baskal Mallia