Six new mayors - five Labour and one Nationalist - have so far been elected in Saturday's local council elections.

There will be a seventh new mayor in Floriana after the incumbent lost his seat. It is not yet sure who it will be, however, after the PN and MLP both elected two councillors there, with the fifth seat being filled by an independent.

Mayors retained their seats in 15 out of the 22 localities.

In Gzira, Xaghra and Mosta, Chris Bonnet, Joseph Cordina, and Paul Chetcuti, all representing Labour, replaced Nationalist mayors Albert Rizzo, Joseph Spiteri and Joe De Martino, respectively after the PN lost the majority of votes and seats in these localities.

In Marsaxlokk, Paola and Swieqi, the two main parties retained their respective majorities but there was a shift in the mayors because the former ones failed to obtain the highest number of votes.

In Marsaxlokk, Stephen Caruana (MLP) replaced Edric Micallef (MLP), while in Paola, Dominic Grima (MLP) takes over from Raymond Attard (MLP).

In Swieqi, a PN stronghold, Carmen Said (PN) obtained the largest number of votes and replaced former Nationalist mayor Alfred Curmi.

The newly elected Gzira mayor Chris Bonnet said he was extremely happy to have obtained such a result having contested the election for the first time.

The 25-year-old notary, who was the president of Pulse, a left-wing student organisation, between 2004 and 2006, takes over from Albert Rizzo.

During house visits Dr Bonnet noted that the voters gave a variety of reasons for voting as they did.

"People with Nationalist tendencies often cited local problems and more Labourites mentioned national issues. This is perhaps the combination which enabled Labour to win in Gzira," he said.

The mayor said the most pressing issue in the locality, besides embellishment and better roads, was the need to focus on culture and on youths.

"We will work to change Gzira's shady reputation through culture and by improving the environment," Dr Bonnet said.

Contacted while on his way back to Gozo, the new Xaghra mayor Joseph Cordina - who was elected to the local council for the third time - said the majority obtained by the MLP in his hometown showed people wanted change.

Mr Cordina, 44, replaced Joseph Spiteri who was Xaghra's mayor when the Nationalist Party held the majority. An accountant by profession and the president of the Gozo Football Association, Mr Cordina said he would like to see all councillors work together for the locality.

"I have trust in the two Nationalist Party councillors who were elected and I would like to work with them closely," Mr Cordina said, explaining that a level of internal strife between councillors during the previous term had hindered the council's work.

Carmen Said (PN), the only woman who became a mayor in this round, replaced Alfred Curmi in Swieqi where many registered voters did not turn up at the polls.

Mrs Said, 60, was already on the Swieqi council in previous years. She was vice-mayor between 1998 and 2004. In the last round, she was also elected with the highest number of votes but stepped down when fellow councillors did not back her to become mayor.

At the time, it was not an automatic step that the councillor with the highest number of votes from the winning party became mayor.

"I would like to make Swieqi a better place to live in for the many young families here. A number of new roads are planned and I will be pushing the government to deliver in this regard," Mrs Said said.

She had the feeling residents were unhappy with a new traffic arrangement which the previous council had put in place and the fact that Swieqi is peppered with construction sites. Only occasionally had she heard people grumble about government policies.

"If permits for houses to be demolished are issued by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, there is little we can do about it. But we will surely work on enforcing regulations to safeguard our quality of life during construction work," said Mrs Said.

Localities and their mayors

Attard
Former mayor: Norbert Pace (PN)
New mayor: same

Gzira
Former mayor: Albert Rizzo (PN)
New mayor: Christian Paul Bonett (MLP)

Kercem
Former mayor: Joseph Grima (PN)
New mayor: same

Mosta
Former mayor: Joseph P. De Martino (PN)
New mayor: Paul Chetcuti (MLP)

Qormi
Former mayor: Jesmond Aquilina (MLP)
New mayor: same

Birzebbuga
Former mayor: Joseph Farrugia (MLP)
New mayor: same

Gharghur
Former mayor: Mario Gauci (PN)
New mayor: same

Luqa
Former mayor: Joseph Schembri (MLP)
New mayor: same

Munxar
Former mayor: Joseph Sultana (PN)
New mayor: same

Qala
Former mayor: Paul Buttigieg (PN)
New mayor: same

Floriana
Former mayor: Publius Agius ASF
New mayor: (not decided yet)

Hamrun
Former mayor: Luciano Busuttil (MLP)
New mayor: same

Marsaxlokk
Former mayor: Edric Micallef (MLP)
New mayor: Stephen Caruana (MLP)

Paola
Former mayor: Raymond Attard (MLP)
New mayor: Dominic Grima (MLP)

Sta Lucija
Former mayor: Frederick Cutajar (MLP)
New mayor: same

Siggiewi
Former mayor: Robert Musumeci (PN)
New mayor: same

Safi
Former mayor: Peter Paul Busuttil (PN)
New mayor: same

Swieqi
Former mayor: Alfred Curmi (PN)
New mayor: Carmen Said (PN)

San Lawrenz
Former mayor: Noel Formosa (PN)
New mayor: same

Vittoriosa
Former mayor: John Boxall (MLP)
New mayor: same

Xaghra
Former mayor: Joseph Spiteri (PN)
New mayor: Joseph Cordina (MLP)

Zebbug, Gozo
Former mayor: Carmelo Saliba (PN)
New mayor: same