Labour increases overall vote and gains three new majorities

The Labour Party has pulled off a number of surprise victories in Safi, St Paul's Bay and Qala and indications show that the party might hang on to its majority in Mosta. Labour has also increased its share of votes in traditionally Nationalist Party strongholds such as St Julian's and Sliema.

The unofficial results show that the Labour Party has gained around 55% of the overall vote whilst the PN gained around 42%. The remaining 3% goes to Alternattiva Demokratika and the handful of independent candidates who contested these elections.

The lowest turnout ever has resulted in a 5-point gain in favour of the PL as the lead it had in the 35 localities which held an election yesterday increased from around 50% to 55%. The PN vote is down to 42% from 47%.

Before yesterday's election the two big parties held a majority in 17 localities each and Floriana was the only council with no overall majority. After the vote it seems that at least the PL has gained three new majorities and it is expected that Labour also increases its number of overall councillors.

The lowest voter turnout in 19 years, 59.2% has not only wielded significant victories for the Opposition but it has also dealt a heavy blow to the PN. The PN low-key electoral campaign indicated that the party was bracing itself for an overall defeat, however the PN was mainly aiming at overturning the Labour majority in Mosta and retaining its majority in St Paul's Bay. The PN has certainly lost its majority in St Paul's Bay and Mosta looks set to remain a Labour majority.

The PN defeats in Mosta and St Paul's Bay added to the significant defeats in Safi and Qala indicate that the PN has not only been punished by abstention but there also seems to have been an overall swing in favour of the Labour Party.

The PN's poor showing in its traditional strongholds which it either lost such as Safi and St Paul's Bay or decreased its lion share such as Sliema and St Julian's sends out stronger shockwaves than its failure to re-capture Mosta. The PN was pinning all its hopes on re-gaining Mosta and although the party held a low-key campaign it concentrated its media efforts on the scandal ridden Mosta council.  

The PN has also suffered a haemorrhage of votes in traditional strongholds such as Sliema, St Julian's and Swieqi.  The PN will most probably blame its poor showing on the low turnout and argue that local council elections have little bearing on a national level. The PN had also suffered defeat in the 2007 local elections but went on to win the general election the following year, albeit with a very narrow margin.

The record low turnout illustrates that the electorate has lost interest in local elections and this could be attributed to the number scandals which afflicted a number of localities with different majorities in recent years. However, whilst the voter turnout is low by Maltese standards, it still is higher than most other countries when compared to local and national election turnouts in Europe.  

The result also indicates that the PN voter base has sent out a clear message of discontent and wanted to get its message across by not picking up the voting document at all, not voting or voting for other parties.

Altghough nothing has been confirmed, Alternattiva Demokratika seem to have secured the re-election of its chairperson Michael Briguglio in Sliema and its secretary general, Ralph Cassar in Attard. Before the elections the Greens were hoping to elect three councillors, however the best the party can hope for is to elect two out of 10 candidates.