Seismic shift after general and local elections

The general election result, in which Labour made penetrating inroads into traditional blue districts while strengthening traditionally red strongholds, was mirrored in the local elections held on the same day.

In the 33 local council elections held on 9 March, not only did Labour increase its share by 2.2%, but it also won six councils previously led by PN majorities.

On the other hand the PN lost 1.8% of its vote when compared to the elections held in the same localities between 2008 and 2012.

Elections were held in 33 localities with the exception of Mdina where only five persons submitted their nominations for the five-seat council.

Turnout for the local elections stood at 82% - 1% more than the turnout registered in the same localities in the previous rounds.

Gudja and Mtarfa registered the highest turnout at 94% while Msida and Sliema registered the lowest turnouts at 68% and 57% respectively.

The turnout, 11% lower than the general election held on the same day, could be down to the low participation among  EU nationals residing in Malta who have a right to vote in local elections.

Unlike parliament, local council mayorship goes to the party which gains the largest number of seats, and not to the party who gains the largest number of votes.

Following the shambles involving the Gozo and B'Kara districts in the general election, which were subject to a request filed by the PN to have a recount in both districts (which was eventually turned down by the Constitutional court), the local councils counting process was characterised by a number of recounts.

The counting process was hampered by the PN's 12 requests for recounts in the localities which were too close to call, which slowed down proceedings and caused a great deal of discontent among candidates and party agents.

Labour's gains

Apart from winning the majority of votes and seats in six localities formally led by the PN - namely B'Kara, Mellieha, Pietà, Mqabba, Santa Venera and Mtarfa.

Despite winning the majority of votes in all six localities, the gap between the parties was so paltry that the outcome was only clear in the latter counts.

In Mtarfa, Labour enjoyed a measly five-vote advantage in the first count and had to wait for the ninth count to secure the majority in the five-seat council.

In Mellieha and B'Kara, Labour advantage was also small and in the case of Malta's largest town, Labour's majority in terms of seats was only ascertained 24 hours after the counting process commenced.

In Mqabba and Santa Venera, Labour enjoyed a large swing, increasing its vote by 7.8% and 5.6% respectively. 

Labour also increased its share of votes in decisively red localities such as Zejtun (3%), Xajghra (5%), Tarxien (7%), Qrendi (8%) and Sannat (10%). Notable exceptions were Kalkara - where Labour lost almost 3% - Marsascala (4%) and Gudja (4%).

Labour also registered an increase in localities which maintained a PN majority, such as Valletta, Victoria and Mgarr.

In Sliema, Labour's hopes to weaken the PN's hold on the council faded away and suffered a 1.3% dip in its vote compared to last year's result.

Labour managed to hold on to the Msida council by obtaining a slender advantage of 29 votes in the first count and despite suffering a 0.9% dip.

In Gozo, the Labour Party increased its vote in five out of six localities, mirroring the 15% increase registered in the Gozo district in the general election.

The latest round of local elections increased the number of councils led by Labour majorities to 44 out of the 68 local council in Malta and Gozo.

PN's haemorrhage 

The PN, which was bracing itself for another drubbing at the polls, suffered a 1.8% dip, from the 44.1% garnered in the previous local elections.

While the result could have been worse, the PN suffered losses across the board, registering the greatest reduction in Labour-leaning Qrendi, Sannat and Tarxien.

In traditionally PN-leaning localities, the party had a mixed result. In Fontana, San Gwann, Lija, Mgarr and Valletta, the PN suffered significant dips but held on to its majorities.

Apart from losing its majorities in B'Kara, Mellieha and Mtarfa with a narrow margin, the PN suffered heavy defeats in Santa Venera, Mqabba and Pietà, which is considered a swing locality.

The PN's greatest and most significant loss was in B'Kara, which for the first time since the inception of local councils in 1993, will be led by a Labour majority.

The loss of one of its fortresses, led by PN leader and Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami's younger son Michael, for the previous two terms, should send shockwaves throughout the battered PN.

In San Gwann, the PN held on to its majority of seats, despite Labour gaining an absolute majority of votes.

On a positive note for the Nationalist Party, the PN increased its share in Victoria, Sliema and Gharb, where the it took the bulk of the votes which in the previous election had gone to the Green Party candidate, who did not contest this time around.

Despite losing the largest number of votes on the 10th district in the general election, the PN saw its share of votes in Sliema rise by almost 5%, suggesting that the drop registered in the 10th district was determined by other localities in the district, such as Gzira and Pembroke.

In Valletta, only 150 votes separated the two major parties, but the PN managed to hang on to the capital despite a 1.3% reduction, and mayor Alexiei Dingli will retain the coveted mayorship in the run up to Valletta's coronation as European cultural capital in 2018.

The PN also registered slight increases in Labour-leaning localities such as Kalkara, Gudja, Marsacscala and Rabat.

Greens fortify Sliema seat

Alternattiva Demokratika averaged 0.4% of the vote over the 33 localities and 4.6% in the three localities it contested. The Green Party Chairperson Michael Briguglio maintained his seat on the Sliema council but the other two candidates who contested Marsascala and Santa Venera did not make it.

Briguglio bettered his tally by around 200 votes over last year's election held following the dissolution of the council which was plagued by serious administrative troubles. This was Briguglio's fourth election on the council.

The independent vote

Independent candidates averaged 0.6% of the vote, with the most notable performance being that of Giovanni Gatt in Mgarr who despite winning 9.1% of the vote, missed out on a seat in the hamlet's council.