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Hunting referendum confirms Maltese regional divide
Just as MaltaToday surveys had predicted, the Yes to spring hunting was strongest in western Malta and Gozo while the No triumphed in the north-east. But contrary to what was predicted in surveys, Labour’s south voted ‘yes’
13 April 2015, 6:35am
James Debono
James Debono
2 min read
Hunters jubilant bring their carcade outside the MaltaToday offices, a newspaper that supported the hunting ban.
How hunters were portrayed in their propaganda: old world charm and happy families...
The picture emerging from the referendum is that of a clear regional divide between the south and western regions traditionally dominated by the Labour party which voted ‘yes’ and the northern districts traditionally dominated by the PN which voted ‘no’.
The only exception was the inner harbour first district, which was won by the PL in the last general election but which voted ‘no’ in the referendum.
Gozo, a district equally split between the PN and PL in the last election provided proved vital to the Yes victory, thanks to its substantial turnout and majority for spring hunting.
In fact in mainland Malta the majority of voters (50.6% against 49.4%) voted ‘no’.
An analysis of the result by district clusters shows the yes winning by over 60% in the Labour-held, hunting country of the fifth, sixth and seventh districts – southeast and west, and in Gozo, as correctly predicted in MaltaToday surveys.
| Districts | MaltaToday poll (extrapolation) | Actual Results |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | Yes 48.3%, No 51.7% | Yes 55%, No 45% |
| 5 to 7 | Yes 60.2%, No 39.8% | Yes 60.4%, No 39.6% |
| 8 to 12 | Yes 33.2%, No 66.6% | Yes 37.8%, No 62.2% |
| 13 | Yes 60.5%, No 39.5% | Yes 62.1%, No 37.9% |
These districts also witnessed a high turnout of around 80%, to the contrary to the rest of Malta which had a turnout of about 70%.
On the other hand the No won by over 60% collectively in the cluster including the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth districts, which includes the urban areas north of the harbour and in the northeast.
A regional breakdown of MaltaToday’s last survey showed the Yes leading by 61% in Gozo (compared to 62% in the actual referendum) and by 60% in the fifth, sixth and seventh districts as actually happened in the referendum.
MaltaToday surveys also showed the No leading by 67% in the cluster which included the eight, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth districts.
But in an indication that a segment of northern voters stayed at home, in the actual referendum 62% of voters in these districts voted No.
What MaltaToday surveys clearly got wrong was the vote of the inner and outer harbour districts represented by the first to fourth electoral districts.
In these districts the MaltaToday survey showed the No and the Yes in a tie with the former enjoying a small two-point lead.
But this district cluster also had the highest percentage of undecided voters (19%) who indicated that they were undecided. It also included the highest percentage of people intending not to vote (13%). In the actual referendum 55% of voters in these four districts voted ‘no’. This may be an indication that a number of undecided voters ended up voting according to party lines.
In fact while in the first district which is the most politically balanced of the four, this was won by the No camp by 54%, while the Yes camp carried the second district Labour stronghold by a staggering 62%.
James Debono is MaltaToday's chief reporter on environment, planning and land use issues, ...
