Malta Today Special Edition • 14 April 2003

PN loses out on district share, consolidates support in others

Matthew Vella

PN data communicating the vote share between the party and the Malta Labour Party registered a lower vote share than 1998’s PN victory.

Lower percentages were recorded almost across the board, except for those districts in which the PN consolidated its support. The PN’s highest gain in voter support was surprisingly registered in the twelfth district, which comprises Gharghur, Mellieha, Mgarr, Naxxar and St Paul’s Bay. The PN’s support increased from 56.02 per cent in 1998 to 62.4 per cent.

It also consolidated its support in its traditional stronghold, the tenth district, comprising Sliema, St Julians, Swieqi and Pembroke, where it bettered 1998’s 71.71 per cent vote share by 1.09 per cent.

Gozo also saw the PN increasing its vote share where it bettered 1998’s 56.64 per cent to 58.8 per cent.

Apart from the fifth district, where change was minimal, the PN lost out on its vote share in all the other districts.

Its biggest decreased manifested itself in the eleventh district. As expected, this hunter’s fiefdom flinched in its support for the PN by delivering a lower vote share for the blues, a decrease of 5.8 per cent support.

The eleventh district, comprising Mosta, Rabat and Mtarfa, sent many fears running through the PN camp as the hunting lobby’s vocal disapproval of EU negotiations risked hampering the PN campaign.

With changes in the district having brought in new voters into the eleventh, Prime Minister Fenech Adami set out on home visits through Rabat just two weeks before the general election.

Despite a not so subtle support for the Malta Labour Party, the hunting lobby’s influential power seems to have somewhat destabilised the PN’s hold in the north.

Labour reaffirmed its support in its strongholds, with the second, third, fourth and sixth district registering higher vote share percentages for the party.

Its biggest increase was in the sixth district, 2.1 per cent up on 1998’s 51.92 per cent. The sixth district comprises of Qormi, Kirkop, Luqa and part of Santa Venera.

Labour also increased its voting share on the eleventh district, a complementary increase to the PN’s reduced share. Labour increase its support in the eleventh by 4.24 per cent from 38.46 per cent in 1998.

Labour however decreased its support in the fifth district, comprising of Birzebbuga, Ghaxaq, Marsaxlokk, Mqabba, Qrendi, Safi and Zurrieq. In 1998, Labour’s share of the vote in the fifth was of 60.38 per cent, this year decreasing to 59.2 per cent.

Its biggest loss was in the twelfth district, a 7.27 per cent decrease from 1998.