Alex Sciberras was voted in as President of the Labour Party, beating the other contender, Norma Saliba, by 14 votes.

From the 721 votes cast by the PL delegates, Sciberras, a lawyer and son of late judge Philip Sciberras, received 364 votes, which is 51%, while Saliba received 350 votes.

Saliba is a former TVM Head of News and currently leads a state-run Maltese language centre.

Briefly addressing the media after being elected as the President of the Labour Party, Sciberras said that the party has delivered a strong message of hope and that it has undergone a renewal.

Both Sciberras and Saliba had, prior to the internal election, said that it was a contest between friends, and played down talk that Saliba was Prime Minister Robert Abela's chosen candidate, and that Sciberras was Joseph Muscat's.

And by the Times of Malta about chatter that she is Robert Abela's chosen candidate and Sciberras is Joseph Muscat's, Saliba had said: "Ours is a contest among friends," and that "I am contesting because I believe in what we can achieve together. My sole focus is that of serving the party and its members. I am committed to working with everyone, to ensure we continue moving forward as a united team."

Sciberras has also said "Norma [Saliba] and myself are genuinely friends and this is truly a race between two friends," and also dismissed rumours he was Joseph Muscat's candidate and that Saliba was Robert Abela's pick. "I'm nobody's candidate," he had told the Times.