Update 2 - EP casual elections under way - Busuttil, de Marco visit counting hall

Vote-counting is well under way in Naxxar in three casual elections being held to fill seats vacated by Simon Busuttil, Louis Grech and Edward Scicluna. The three MEPs resigned upon their election to the Maltese parliament on March 9. Eleven candidates have submitted their nomination for the three seats, which will be held for a year until the European Parliament elections in May next year. Among them is Glenn Bedingfield, who was in the same situation when he successfully contested the casual election to take the European Parliament seat vacated by Joseph Muscat after his co-option to the Maltese parliament. Mr Bedingfield had subsequently not been re-elected. The process this morning started at 8.15 a.m. It involves reopening the ballot papers of the three MEPs and allocating the votes according to the second preferences expressed by voters. The process started with the sorting of votes of Dr Busuttil and Prof Scicluna. Labour candidate Marlene Mizzi took a substantial lead in the casual election for the latter. Some of the candidates turned up at Naxxar counting hall to watch proceedings from behind the perspex. So too did local representatives of the European Parliament and...