PN suffers heavy defeat

The Labour Party won a landslide victory in Saturday's local elections with 53.9 per cent of the vote, overturning Nationalist council majorities in Msida, Pietà, and San Gwann.

The MLP also strengthened its position in localities such as Rabat where it had carried off the majority from the PN three years ago. It gained 12 councillors in all over 2003. Besides losing ground in its traditionally "safe" localities, the Nationalist Party lost 11 councillors, winning just 42.9 per cent of the vote. In the same 23 localities three years ago, the MLP had obtained 46.97 per cent and the PN 48.9 per cent.

In Birkirkara - one of the largest localities - the MLP's votes were up almost 10 per cent over 2003 and the Nationalists won by just 87 votes.

But the biggest shift in votes came in Marsascala where the PN was down 15 per cent when compared to 2003.

In this locality the electorate expressed confidence in independent candidates most notably former Nationalist MP Josie Muscat - the only independent to be elected in all the localities. Nationally, independent candidates obtained 1.4 per cent.

With 1.8 per cent, Alternattiva Demokratika elected a candidate in Sliema and Sannat and lost councillors in Birkirkara and Lija.

This was an overall decline when compared to 2003, when AD had won 3.01 per cent. On that occasion, however, the Green Party had also fielded candidates in Kalkara, Marsascala, Naxxar and San Gwann. It did not contest these localities this time.

Labour leader Alfred Sant said the vote indicated that the people want a change.

He said the MLP's victory was no mean featand considering that these localities were "a difficult round" for Labour since most are traditionally Nationalist leaning.

"The vote poses a huge question mark on how the country is being run," Dr Sant said.

For the third consecutive time since Lawrence Gonzi took the helm of the Nationalist Party and the government, the electorate had placed its trust in the MLP, Dr Sant said. The poll was the umpteenth confirmation of the government's waning credibility.

The PN leader blamed the defeat on "personal, local and national issues". He said the result still needed to be analysed properly but the low turnout had played a significant part in the party's poor showing.

He ruled out calling an early general election. "We still have two years of work and we will move ahead with the decisions we need to take. These elections showed that either the people are not understanding what we are doing or else our message is not getting across," Dr Gonzi said.

Though the Nationalist Party was listening to what the people had to say, the government had to continue taking decisions responsibly and would not revise decisions simply to make people happy.

He added that the vote could reflect that people may not be feeling the expected benefits of European Union membership.

AD chairman Harry Vassallo expressed satisfaction with his party's result.

He said the Green Party has received an unequivocally positive response from residents despite AD's "disadvantage" when it came to national media coverage.

The main issues surrounding AD's success in Sliema were the proposed Qui-Si-Sana car park and other local issues about which the party had voiced itself. Mr Mizzi's election in Sannat comes in the context of AD's opposition to the proposed development in Ta' Cenc.

AD's loyalty lay with the people and it would continue voicing itself on issues even where it had not elected a councillor, Dr Vassallo said.

The vote counting this year was held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta and proceeded without hitches. Most results were out by dawn as the counting continued during the night between Saturday and Sunday. No incidents were reported.

In larger localities, the counting took longer with Birkirkara and Sliema keeping counting agents busy till late yesterday evening.

Outcome at a glance

¤ The Labour Party won an absolute majority of 53.9 per cent of the vote. The PN's share dropped by six percentage points to 42.9 per cent. AD's share slipped from 3.01 per cent to 1.8 per cent while independents gained 1.4 per cent.

¤ Turnout was 66 per cent, down from 88 per cent in 2003 and 71 per cent in 2000.

¤ The MLP has 12 councillors more than three years ago, the PN lost 11 and AD lost one.

¤ For the first time, the MLP has a majority of councillors in Msida, Pietà and San Gwann.

¤ The biggest swing was in Marsascala where the PN lost nearly 15 percentage points.

¤ Contesting under the banner of Grupp Indipendenti Marsascala, former Nationalist MP Josie Muscat was elected on the sixth count. ¤ In Birkirkara, the MLP was up 10 percentage points on three years ago and the PN was down seven, winning a mere 85 votes more than its rival.

¤ Alternattiva Demokratika netted more votes in Sliema than three years ago and Michael Briguglio, its only candidate, was elected on the first count.

¤ AD lost its seat to Labour in Lija and in Birkirkara. It gained a seat to the detriment of the Nationalist Party in Sannat.

¤ There will be new mayors in 11 localities. Seven are newcomers.