Prime Minister Robert Abela trounced PN leader Bernard Grech in their battle on the 5th District, receiving just under double the amount of first count votes. 

According to official results published by the Electoral Commission, Abela received 9,996 first count votes compared to Grech’s 5,799.

However, he received less than the 12,866 first count votes his predecessor Joseph Muscat received on the 5th District in 2017. 

Abela’s performance over Grech is even more impressive considering the competitive field of candidates on the PL ticket with Miriam Dalli, Owen Bonnici and Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi all receiving over 1,000 first count votes. 

Abela also performed well in the 2nd District, receiving 11,694 first count votes, but it was less than the 14,674 votes Muscat received there in 2017. 

Grech received 9,450 first count votes on the 11th District, also less than the 11,266 first count votes Simon Busuttil received on that district in the last general election. 

The Labour Party won the general election by just over 39,000 votes, the party’s third consecutive landslide victory. Grech has vowed to contest for the PN leadership, with party statute demanding that a leadership election must be called after a general election loss. 

Robert Abela will be sworn in later today as Prime Minister. 

You can check out Abela and Grech’s first visit to the counting hall after the announcement of results over here and here.

What do you think of the results?