[WATCH] Darmanin Demajo re-elected MFA president in landslide victory

Norman Darmanin Demajo has been re-elected as Malta Football Association president for the next three years after seeing off Peter Fenech's challenge in today's election.

142 MFA council members were eligible to vote and out of the 140 votes cast, Darmanin Demajo gained 117, with Peter Fenech gaining 23 votes.

In today's general meeting six candidates contested the three MFA vice-president posts with outgoing vice-presidents, Carmelo Bartolo, Alex Manfrè and Ludovigo Micallef, facing the challenge of three other contenders, namely Chris Bonett, Peter Busuttil and Donald Spiteri.

Chris Bonnett (101 votes), Alex Manfre (86) and Ludovico Micallef (75) were elected while Carmelo Bartolo came fourth after obtaining 59 votes.

Donald Spiteri obtained 48 votes while Film Commissioner Peter Busuttil only managed to garner seven votes.

Darmanin Demajo won a second three-year term after taking over the reins of local football's governing body in 2010 when his emphatic victory ended the 18-year tenure of Joe Mifsud. 

This time around, Darmanin Demajo, known as id-Dedé', faced his old rival's sidekick, the former MFA deputy president Peter Fenech.

Erstwhile allies in the 1990s, the id- Dedé' and Mifsud fell out over the handling of TV rights contracts involving national team matches. In 2008, Darmanin Demajo revealed documents pertaining to a June 2000 friendly between German side Bayern Munich and a Maltese team selection, for which a sum of money was allegedly paid to influence Mifsud's vote - he was then also a member of the UEFA executive committee - in favour of the German bid to host the 2006 World Cup.

The allegations led to libel proceedings against Darmanin Demajo, who upon being elected in 2010 told the press he would not carry out an internal inquiry on the allegations.

Except that he did carry out an audit, albeit related to UEFA's - the governing body of European football - solidarity payments to Maltese football clubs. It was this that had led originally to Darmanin Demajo's rupture with Mifsud, when he resigned as MFA treasurer.