The Nationalist Party has improved its result of three years ago in these same councils, increasing its number of votes by around one percent.

Addressing a news conference this morning, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the people were intelligent enough to vote according to circumstances and which election they were voting for.

The result of the EP election definitively sent messages which the party had to interpret and analyse well.

In the council elections, the PN won back three majorities of certain significance - in San Gwann, Pieta and Mtarfa.

In the latter case, the PN won the locality a year ago after the council had had to be dissolved. The PN managed to retain the majority it had then won.

The PN also won an additional six seats to those it had obtained three years ago. Some, however, were due to an increase in the number of seats in certain localities.

Dr Gonzi said that the PN won an additional two seats in Sliema, one which used to belong to AD and one of an additional two seats added to this council.

It won AD’s seat in Sannat, an additional seat in Marsascala, where the number of seats had also been increased and another seat in each of Pieta and San Gwann.

The Prime Minister said that in two thirds of the localities where elections were held, the PN increased the percentage of votes it acquired three years ago with the biggest gains being made in Sliema and Lija.

While in 2006, the PN had 67 seats in these localities, it now had 73. Both parties had increased their vote percentage by one.

Dr Gonzi noted that half the PN’s candidates were new and 40 percent of them were elected. In fact, the party had 27 new councillors.

He also noted the increase in turnout from 66 percent three years ago to 77 percent in this month’s elections.

He urged all councillors, irrelevant of the party they represented, to work for the benefit of their locality.