The election for a new Nationalist Party (PN) Leader has come to an end with Gozitan MP Alex Borg overcoming his opponent Adrian Delia with a razor-thin majority.

With 86 per cent of the more than 20,000 registered PN members voting in the leadership election, the distance between the two stood at just a few dozen votes when Dr Borg declared victory.

However, it took three more hours for the official result to come out, after the PN's electoral commission, having assigned votes marked 'dubious' to either of the two candidates, then opted to hand-count all votes itself. 

At the end of what turned into an hours-long process, Dr Borg emerged as the winner with 50.1 per cent of the votes cast.

Dr Borg is a relative newcomer to the political scene, having only been elected to Parliament in the 2022 general election.

However, the former Mr World Malta and waterpolo player has made a name for himself as an outspoken figure with media savvy and broad appeal, with a slim majority of PN members choosing to bet on a new face over re-electing Dr Delia, who was running in his third leadership election.

Dr Delia was elected PN Leader in 2017, but lost to outgoing Leader Bernard Grech in another election in 2020.

While he had proven to be a divisive figure during his time at the helm of the party, Dr Delia was hopeful that the experience he gained in the intervening years – during which he led the PN’s successful campaign against the privatisation of state hospitals – would put him in better stead.

The election was extremely close, with Dr Borg ultimately winning a majority of just 44 votes.

At just 30 years old, PN members hope that Dr Borg will breathe new life into a party that has been perceived as rudderless ever since the Labour Party’s sweeping electoral victory in 2013. 

Despite his relative inexperience, his family is well known in Gozo, with his father Tony Borg serving as Mayor of Fontana and as Chief of Staff to Giovanna Debono, a former Minister for Gozo. 

Dr Borg will be the fourth person to lead the PN since 2017.

In a brief message posted to social media, Dr Borg, posing alongside his partner Sarah Bajada, said a new chapter would now begin for the PN while thanking party members for their support.