Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/874823
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2017 2 PAUL COCKS SOME 15,527 paid-up members of the Nationalist Party were eligible to elect their new leader yesterday, after a first round of voting two weeks ago saw party councillors give their support to Adrian Delia and Chris Said. With the vote expected to con- firm a winner after 12am, Mal- taToday was not in a position to report on the PN's new leader at the time of going to print. The result was published first online on www.maltatoday. com.mt. A party spokesperson con- firmed that yesterday's turnout was of 95%. Some 3,000 members did not collect their voting docu- ment. Contender Chris Said voted early on at 9:30am at the Gozi- tan sub-headquarters in Sannat, Gozo. "I have been informed that more than 5,000 members have voted in the last four hours," the MP said after voting. "Thank you for voting, for showing that you believe in this party and for join- ing in this historic moment." Lawyer Adrian Delia voted later at the MFCC in Ta' Qali, flanked by his wife Nickie Vella de Fre- meaux. He took to social media to reassure voters after reports sur- faced that an altercation between Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi and Delia's brother took place at the Granaries in Floriana. Online videos also showed the newcomer attempting to calm crowds in Floriana as protests over long voting queues emerged. Elsewhere, Democratic Party MP Marlene Farrugia took to so- cial media to warn voters that "if they vote for Delia, party mem- bers will be choosing to demolish the Opposition, and bury the PN." In an electoral first, it is the PN's members who will choose who will succeed Simon Busuttil at the helm of the party, although only those who have been signed up for more than two years were ac- tually eligible to vote. 2,595 voted last week, leaving 12,932 of those eligible to cast their vote today. Around 2,500 members who were eligible to vote did not col- lect their voting document by Thursday's deadline. Voting started at 9am yesterday but, this time round, the PN chose to have two polling stations – one at MFCC in Ta' Qali and one at the Floriana Granaries – to make for a faster and seamless voting process. Gozitan members voted at the party's sub-headquarters in Sannat. Voting closed at around 8pm in Gozo, with the Malta booths re- maining open for an additional hour. Immediately after voting closed, the sealed boxes from Gozo and Ta' Qali were taken to the Gra- naries, where the sorting of votes started soon after 9pm. The winning candidate had to secure at least 50% plus one of all votes cast. The official result of the election was expected in the early hours of Sunday. After the election, new prepa- rations will be underway to elect new deputy leaders, as well as a new executive and adminsitrative council. Mario de Marco and Beppe Fenech Adami will not be seeking re-election, while secretary-gen- eral Rosette Thake also tendered her resignation together with ex- ecutive committee president Ann Fenech, General Council presi- dent Paula Mifsud Bonnici, and administrative council president Karol Aquilina, who is now an MP. MaltaToday Survey DESPITE all the activity, diatribe and money spent on social media in this leadership election cam- paign, three quarters of paid-up Nationalist Party members and who were eligible to vote in yes- terday's election followed the election campaign mainly on tel- evision, a MaltaToday survey has found. Amazingly, only a third of the people interviewed said they fol- lowed the campaign on social media, with radio proving even a more popular source of informa- tion. 308 members of the PN who were eligible to vote in yester- day's election between Adrian Delia and Chris Said were asked four questions which help to shed light on the PN members' deci- sion, as well as the feelings and concerns of the party's members. They were asked: How are you following the leadership cam- paign? What is the party's biggest issue? Can the party win the next general election? How would you describe the PN? News PN LEADERSHIP ELECTIONS • More photos and video on www.maltatoday.com.mt Leaders of men: PN contender Adrian Delia (top left) with his wife Nicky Vella de Fremaux, and (right) Chris Said after voting yesterday. ALL PHOTOS: JAMES BIANCHI One of the most visible aspects of this election was the demographic of the PN membersip, where a substantial amount of voters are aged over 60