[LIVE] PN narrowly reclaims St Paul’s Bay

Our live blog of the 2015 local councils elections from the counting hall in Naxxar: follow us here for constant updates • Munxar won by Labour for the first time • PN narrowly wins  St. Paul's Bay back

PN leader Simon Busuttil visits party agents and candidates at the Naxxar counting hall
PN leader Simon Busuttil visits party agents and candidates at the Naxxar counting hall
11:24

The final councillors have been elected, with Maria Pia Bonnici, Mark Micallef, and Joseph Gatt getting elected to the Mosta local council on the Labour ticket.

Tim Diacono

10:46

Meanwhile, PN candidates Karl Tanti and Angele Rapa have been elected to the Mosta local council, after having inherited the majority of Francis Deguara’s votes. The PN have therefore won seven seats in the council, regaining their majority. Five PL candidates are still fighting for the three remaining Mosta seats.

Tim Diacono

10:40 The narrow victory means that Graziella Galea has once again become mayor of St. Paul's Bay, after having won 1,546 first-count votes. Tim Diacono
10:39

After a tight battle, the PN have reclaimed St. Paul’s Bay, as Daniel Grima was elected as the PN’s seventh councilor on the council, beating PL candidate Rodney Grima by around 12 votes. PL candidates Matthew John Barbara and Mario Buhagiar were also elected.

Tim Diacono

09:47 Meanwhile, in St Paul’s Bay six PN candidates have so far been elected. These are: Antoinette Bezzina, Anne Marie Fenech, Graziella Galea, Robert Piscopo, David Thake, and Joseph Vella. Four candidates have been elected on the Labour ticket, namely Paul Bugeja, Mandy Buhagiar, Alfred Grima, Raymond Tabone.

Despite ten out of 13 candidates being elected, both parties are still fighting for the majority of seats in the local council.

Daniel Mizzi

09:39 Labour candidate Mario Sammut has been elected on the Mosta local council after inheriting 73 votes on the thirteenth count. PN candidate Gianluca Busuttil has also been elected. The result means that the Nationalist Party has so far elected five candidates, two more than the Labour Party.

PN candidate Francis Deguara is the next candidate to be eliminated. The majority of his votes are expected to be inherited by the two remaining PN candidates, namely Karl Tanti and Angele Rapa.

Daniel Mizzi
08:14 Counting in St Paul’s Bay has entered the sixteenth count: The PN and the PL remain deadlocked as the party which will the majority of the council seats is still unknown. A large chunk of the votes of the eliminated candidates did not change hands, effectively meaning that there was no cross-party voting. However, the result could swing if Simon Galea, AD’s last candidate, is eliminated. If Galea were to be eliminated, his 306 votes would be up for grabs – which votes could determine the final outcome.

PN candidates Edward Torpiano and Rebecca Micallef have been eliminated, with the majority of their votes being transferred to PN candidates. Next to be eliminated will be Labour’s Mario Buhagiar.

Daniel Mizzi

07:52 The latest Qormi councilors are Antoine Saliba and Marvin Zammit - his surname is Zammit, not Saliba as previously reported. Daniel Mizzi
07:20 Elsewhere, unconfirmed results show that in Qormi, the elimination of Labour candidate Daniel Bugeja will pave the way for the election of fellow Labourites Antoine Saliba and Marvin Saliba. The result means that seven candidates who stood on the Labour ticket were elected, while the PN elected four. Rosianne Cutajar has been reconfirmed as mayor.

This result means that only two local councils remain undecided: Mosta and St Paul’s Bay. Mosta will once again have a Nationalist majority after it garnered 52% of the votes, while the majority in St Paul’s Bay remains up for grabs with both parties resting heavily on the prospect of inheriting cross-party votes.

Daniel Mizzi

07:13 St Paul’s Bay candidate Maryanne Vella (PN) has been eliminated with the majority of her 133 votes – barring three – all inherited by Nationalist candidates. The elimination of independent candidate Eman Micallef brought no major change either, as the majority of his first count votes (128) were non-transferrable.

Daniel Mizzi
07:06 Arnold Cassola on the election of Ralph Cassar in Attard: “The fact that Ralph Cassar has been elected for the fourth consecutive time is a testament to the trust vested in him by the Attard voters… The increase in votes registered in several locations follows the positive results attained by AD in the 2013 general election and the 2014 MEP elections, it is a positive trend which shows that the party is moving forward.”

Daniel Mizzi
06:53 Counting in Mosta has entered its eleventh count. Ivan Bartolo (PN), Keith Cassar (PN), Alex Muscat (PL), and Rachel Tua (PL) have all been elected, with James Cassar and Keith Cassar completing a foursome for the Nationalist Party after inheriting a large chunk of Edwin Vassallo’s surplus votes.

Daniel Mizzi
06:50 In Zebbug, Nationalist candidates Kevin Glynn and Philip Said have been elected after inheriting 365 and 380 votes respectively. The result means that the Zebbug council will be made up of four PN councilors and five Labour councilors. Sarah Agius (PL), Clive Azzopardi (PL), Vernalise Bartolo (PL), Alfred Grixti (PL) have already been confirmed as councilors, with Christopher Bongailas expected to follow suit after inheriting 239 votes on the eleventh count.

Daniel Mizzi
06:19 Tick-tock: We are now 24 hours into the counting process. The outcome of 29 localities has been determined, while the result of four localities in Malta still hangs in the balance. The counting process in Zebbug and Qormi is picking up speed, but on the other hand, counting in Mosta is gathering little momentum with counting agents still locked at the eight count.

Surprisingly, however, the mood inside the counting hall is subdued and quiet with both party officials remaining entrenched at counting agents. Party officials say that the counting process in Mosta and St Paul’s Bay is expected to be completed in the next few hours, while a Labour supporter jokingly predicted that the timing of the final results will coincide with Labour’s celebration at 10am.

Daniel Mizzi
06:03 Elsewhere in Zebbug, four candidates have been elected on the Labour ticket, while the PN elected two. These are: Sarah Agius (PL), Clive Azzopardi (PL), Vernalise Bartolo (PL), Alfred Grixti (PL), Roderick Aquilina (PN), and George Cortis (PN). Three candidates remain to be elected while Sarah Agius will be the new mayor after she outvoted long-serving mayor Alfred Grixti.

Daniel Mizzi
05:59 Counting in Qormi is nearing conclusion as only three candidates remain to be elected. The PN has so far elected three candidates from a possible 11, while the Labour Party elected five. These are: Ralph Puli (PN), Jerome Caruana Cilia (PN), Robert Cremona (PN), Rosianne Cutajar (PL), Jesmond Aquilina (PL), Bjorn Azzopardi (PL), Renald Falzon (PL), and Josef Aquilina (PL).

Daniel Mizzi
05:55 The votes of two eliminated PN candidates, namely Dounia Borg and Alban Thika, were evenly redistributed among the remaining Nationalist candidates. Labour candidates only managed to inherit two votes from a possible 155 while AD inherited a sole vote. Next to be eliminated is independent candidate Eman Micallef, closely followed by PN candidates Edward Torpiano and Maryanne Vella.

Daniel Mizzi
05:51 All eyes remain on St Paul’s Bay, as PN sources say that the party is enjoying a majority of just 44 votes. The eleventh count is currently underway while both parties remain at odds at who won the majority of votes, more so since there is little evidence of cross-party voting.

A brief recap of the situation in St Paul’s Bay: The PN garnered 3,701 first count votes, 62 more than the Labour Party. After the surplus of votes of those candidates elected on the first count were distributed to the second preference candidate, the difference in votes remained less than 100 as there was little cross party voting. The candidates with the least number of votes were then eliminated and the votes were redistributed according to voters’ preference. Daniel Mizzi

05:15 Almost 24 hours since the counting process began, counting agents are still battling it out to determine the outcome in four Maltese localities: Mosta, Zebbug, Qormi, and St Paul’s Bay. The result in Mosta (PN), Zebbug (PL), and Qormi (PL) is a dead rubber as the party in majority was announced earlier with party officials and candidates deserting the counting hall. Counting agents have followed suit with the counting process in Mosta gathering little momentum as the seventh count is still underway.

Daniel Mizzi
05:06 Meanwhile, there was drama in Paola as PN candidates Ivan Bartolo and Tyrone Muscat managed to squeeze past fellow Nationalist Michael Piccinino to secure the final two seats. Piccinino was left to rue the inheritance of votes after Bartolo and Muscat inherited a total of 256 votes in the last count – comfortably surpassing the 76 votes inherited by Piccinino.

The final composition of the Paola local council is as follows: Steven Axisa (PL), Dominic Grima (PL), Bernard Lynch (PL), Nicholas Seychell (PL), Roderick Spiteri (PL), Ivan Bartolo (PN), and Tyrone Muscat (PN). Dominic Grima is the new mayor.

Daniel Mizzi
04:59 The results of the eight count of St Paul’s Bay are in; No major changes as the parties remain neck and neck. The distribution of surplus votes of the four elected candidates has now been completed, while counting agents have now started eliminating the candidates with the least number of votes.

The first to go was Evgeniya Sharkova: the majority of her 37 first-count votes were gobbled up by fellow independent candidate Eman Micallef with the Labour and PN candidates inheriting a meager nine votes.

Daniel Mizzi
04:55 Daniel Mizzi
04:20 The battle for the majority of seats in St Paul’s Bay remains as close as ever with the majority constantly changing hands between the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party. Now in its seventh count, the counting process is currently still distributing the surplus votes of the elected candidates. Official figures show that there is little signs of cross-voting with three PN candidates only managing to garner as much as five votes from a total of 21 votes.

Daniel Mizzi
04:14 Official results show that as previously reported, AD candidate Ralph Cassar has been re-elected in Attard. Cassar will join Raymond Azzopardi (PL), Alfred Zammit (PL), Marisa Abela (PN), Stefan Cordina (PN), John Debono (PN), Alex Mangion (PN), Connie Sceri (PN), and Mark Anthony Spiteri (PN). Stefan Cordina (PN) has been reconfirmed as mayor.

Daniel Mizzi
03:59 Elsewhere in Zebbug, the distribution of surplus votes is complete. The candidates with the least number of votes are now being eliminated while their votes would be subsequently redistributed according to voters’ preference.

A glimmer of hope for the counting agents and electoral supervisors as the counting process in Hamrun is now closed. A last-ditch mass inheritance of votes by PN candidate Efrem Buttigieg ensured that the Nationalist Party has three seats in the seven-seat council. The councilors are: Vince Bonello (PL), Carmen Borg (PL), Jurgen Grixti (PL), Christian Sammut (PL), Efrem Buttigieg (PN), Antonello Cuschieri (PN) and Louise Portelli (PN). Christian Sammut is the new mayor.

Daniel Mizzi
03:44 The outcome of the St Paul’s Bay votes remains firmly in the balance with party sources saying that the PN is currently enjoying a slim majority of 20 votes. The counting was also temporarily halted after counting agents clashed over two votes.

Daniel Mizzi
03:41 The counting process has now entered its 21st hour; party officials and candidates – albeit a very few number - remain glued to the perspex, while other counting agents have grown increasingly restless at the sluggish pace.

Daniel Mizzi
02:56 AD candidate Ralph Cassar is expected to be re-elected in Attard as he only needs 14 more votes to reach the quota of 676.

Elsewhere, in St Paul’s Bay, the Labour Party and the PN remain neck and neck in the battle to obtain the majority of seats. The surplus votes of David Thake – 84 in total – have now been distributed to the second preference candidates. The votes were all equally distributed amongst Thake’s fellow PN candidates, with Anne Marie Fenech inheriting a modest 13 votes.

Daniel Mizzi
02:50 Official figures confirm that in St Julian’s, John Agius, Adrian Ellul, and Martin Sultana will be Labour’s representatives, while for the Nationalist Party, Albert Buttigieg, Guido Dalli, Rita Dimech Portelli, and Karl Gouder have been elected. Nationalist candidates Anthony Grech, Francis Said, and Richard Scicluna have all been eliminated, meaning that Clayton Mula and Clayton Tanti Gregoraci will be elected by default – even though they have not yet reached the quota.

Daniel Mizzi
02:20 In Paola, the local council will be made up of five Labourites and two Nationalists. The five candidates that stood on the Labour ticket have all been elected, while Ivan Bartolo, Rita Delezio, Tyrone Muscat, and Michael Piccinino (all PN) battling out for the remaining two seats.

Daniel Mizzi
02:14 Official results confirm that in Zurrieq, all of Labour’s seven candidates have been elected, with Ignatius Farrugia confirmed as mayor after garnering 1,756 first count votes. Pierre Farrugia and Dino Bonnici are the only PN councilors, while Labour councilors David Abdilla, Jean Pierre Attard, Joseph D’ Amato, Kenneth Farrugia, Tiffany Farrugia and Rita Grima making up the remainder of the council.

Daniel Mizzi
01:58 Counting in Siggiewi is now closed: four candidates were elected on the PN ticket while the Labour Party elected three. These are: Nicholas Cassar (PL), Clayton Cutajar (PL), Dominic Grech (PL), Karol Aquilina (PN), Julian Borg (PN), Gillian Farrugia Pace (PN), and Alessia Psaila Zammit (PN). Karol Aquilina has been re-elected as mayor.

Daniel Mizzi
01:49 Meanwhile, St Paul’s Bay remains a close call with the fate of the mayor still unknown. Unconfirmed figures show that the inheritance of 147 independent votes will play a major role in determining the majority of the local council.

Daniel Mizzi
01:45 Counting in Mosta has entered its fourth count, as the parties remain keen on battling out for as many seats as possible in the 13-seat local council. Former Nationalist MP Edwin Vassallo was earlier confirmed as mayor, while Ivan Bartolo (PN), Keith Cassar (PN), Alex Muscat (PL), and Rachel Tua (PL) have all been elected.

Daniel Mizzi
01:39 Counting in Swieqi is also closed with the PN electing seven candidates out of a possible nine. The Labour Party’s only two candidates, namely Alexander Chetcuti and Mario Fava, have also been elected. Official figures show that the PN garnered 3,867 or 80.92% of the votes. The Labour Party garnered 912 votes, while 327 votes were invalid. The councilors are: Mary Anna Abela (PN), Alfred Curmi (PN), Justin Fenech (PN), Paul Fenech (PN), Mauro Miceli (PN), Noel Muscat (PN), Teresa Valentino (PN), Alexander Chetcuti (PL), and Mario Fava (PL).

Nadur also brought an end to counting in Gozo. A total of 40 candidates were elected in eight different local councils in Gozo, with the PN edging out 22 total councilors to the 18 councilors elected on the Labour ticket. But notwithstanding the PN’s slight majority in councilors, the Labour Party registered an increase in voting in Ghajnsielem, Munxar, Qala, Nadur, Xaghra, Zebbug and Kercem. On the other hand, the PN gained more votes in San Lawrenz, which in turn translated into an additional seat in the council.

Daniel Mizzi
00:54 Counting in Nadur is also closed with the PN electing three candidates, while the Labour Party electing the remaining two. These are Michael Camilleri (PL), Josianne Cutajar (PL), Eucharist Camilleri (PN), Rita Mifsud (PN), and Edward Said (PN).

Meanwhile, counting in St Paul’s Bay remains on a knife-edge as the majority in votes is constantly changing hands between the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party. If PN manages to garner a majority foothold in the council, Graziella Galea would be mayor, whereas if the Labour Party were to garner the majority of voting, Alfred Grima would become mayor.

Paul Bugeja (PL), Mandy Buhagiar (PL), Alfred Grima (PL), incumbent mayor Raymond Tabone (PL), Graziella Galea (PN), and David Thake (PN) have so far been elected in St Paul’s Bay. There is however a long night ahead for party officials and electoral commissioners as seven candidates have yet to be elected.

Daniel Mizzi
00:07 Counting in Gzira is now closed: four candidates were elected on a Labour ticket while the PN elected three. These are Conrad Borg Manché (PL), Chetcuti Neville (PL), Joseph Galea (PL), Ralph Mangion, Jeremy Cardona (PN), Wayne Hewitt (PN) and Graziella Schembri (PN). Miriam Dalli
00:05 The local council elections have also seen the election of 18 new mayors, three of which are women. 18-year-old Terence Agius, the youngest, was elected mayor of Kirkop.

The new mayors are Sarah Agius (PL) in Haz-Zebbug, Davina Sammut (PL) in Floriana, Carmen Said (PL) in Munxar, Sandro Azzopardi (PL) in Dingli, Joe Casha (PL) in Isla, Christian Sammut (PL) in Hamrun, Terence Ellul (PL) in Santa Lucija, Kevin Barun (PL) in Birzebbuga, Horace Gauci (PL) in Marsaxlokk, Conrad Borg Mache (PL) in Gzira, Domenic Grima (PL) in Paola, Giljan Aquilina (PN) in Gharghur, Karl Gouder (PN) in St Julian’s, Ian Spiteri (PN) in Balzan, Edwin Vassallo (PN) in Mosta, Noel Formosa (PN) in San Lawrenz, Franco Ciangura (PN) in Ghajnsielem and Edward Said (PN) in Nadur.

Miriam Dalli
23:28 Miriam Dalli
20:51 Almost 15 hours later, counting on these localities is still ongoing: Gzira, Swieqi, Siggiewi, Zurrieq, Paola, Haz-Zebbug, Hal Qormi, Mosta, St Julian’s, St Paul’s Bay, Hamrun and Attard. The ongoing counting is to elect the remaining councillors.

In a few words, this is what happens: the surplus of votes of those candidates elected on the first count are distributed to the second preference candidate. If in the following count, following the addition of the surplus, no candidate is elected, the candidate with the least amount of votes is eliminated and his votes and redistributed according to voters’ preference. When the surplus from the votes of elected candidate is redistributed, the candidates inherit a proportion.

Miriam Dalli
19:46 Official results confirm a 52.13% win for the PN in Mosta while Labour got 47.87%. Edwin Vassallo, with 2,774 votes, has been elected mayor. Mosta elects thirteen candidates. On the first count, Ivan Bartolo (PN) was elected with 1,076 votes and Alex Muscat (PL) with 2,378 votes. Miriam Dalli
19:38 Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Arnold Cassola has expressed satisfaction at the overall result obtained by the Green party.

“Today’s results have been a lesson in how every political party won … and we have won too,” Cassola quipped.

Read the full report here

Miriam Dalli
19:15 The PN won the majority in St Paul’s Bay by 61 votes, garnering 3,701 votes (47.68%). On the other hand, Labour obtained 3,639 votes (46.88%) while AD got 275 votes (3.54%). Miriam Dalli
18:34 A recount following the Dingli blunder has been requested. The Electoral Commission upheld the request. Miriam Dalli
18:31 Former Labour MEP Joseph Cuschieri took to Facebook, urging the Labour Party to stop ignoring its own people.

“Labour one but the reduction in votes in localities with a PL majority can’t be ignored. This haemorrhage of votes has to be stopped: listen to your own people, uphold your promises, control individuals within the party who are becoming arrogant, remain close to the people and stop ridiculing and insulting Simon Busuttil and the PN,” Cuschieri said.

He went on to add that his was constructive criticism and hoped that his appeal doesn’t fall on deaf ears.

Miriam Dalli
18:28 Former PN MP Edwin Vassallo is the new mayor of Mosta. Miriam Dalli
18:04 Counting in Mosta still underway but looks like PN will retain their majority. Miriam Dalli
17:51 25-year-old Sarah Agius is the new mayor of Haz-Zebbug after garnering 1,094 votes. Agius replaces former mayor Alfred Grixti, CEO of the Social Welfare Foundation. Miriam Dalli
17:44 Vote-counting for the Dingli local council is still suspended after the Electoral Commission detected mistakes. According to reports, candidates may have been declared elected without actually meeting the quota. The surplus from their votes were still transferred to other candidates.

Five seats are to be elected in Dingli, where Labour obtained a 68.16% majority and PN registered 31.84%. Candidates elected so far are Rachel Powell (PL), Sandro Azzopardi (PL), Raymond Schembri (PL) and David Vassallo (PN).

Miriam Dalli
17:38 PN leader boosts PN agents’ morale at the Naxxar counting hall Miriam Dalli
16:47 PN leader Simon Busuttil descended at the Naxxar counting hall as PN counting agents pushed over each other to greet their leader. Security and party agents formed a human shield around him as he made his way through the halls. Miriam Dalli
16:01 During his press conference, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat insisted that the result in Gozo was not a reflection of the spring hunting vote. Read more here Miriam Dalli
15:53 Here’s a clip from Simon Busuttil’s press conference. Full report here Miriam Dalli
15:15 Miriam Dalli
15:01 With 1,481 votes (50.17%), PN won Nadur with the counting hall breaking into cheers and chants of “Nazzjonalisti! Nazzjonalisti!”. Labour – with 1,425 votes – registered 48.27%. Alternattiva Demokratika got 46 votes (1.56%). Miriam Dalli
14:56 PN take Nadur by very slim majority. Matthew Vella
14:46 Labour take Qormi. Matthew Vella
14:30 Busuttil has been asked by Labour media about the PN's own targets to win four councils – which they did not – and whether the PN’s “excessive triumphalism” is just a face-saver for his own leadership. Simon Busuttil replies saying that the best thing for the PN would be to have Labour ignore what this result actually says about the PL. Matthew Vella
14:26 Simon Busuttil has referred to Joseph Muscat twice as 'Joe' Muscat... Matthew Vella
14:25 Here's some soundbites from the Simon Busuttil press concference: "Although it's a year since the EP results, we have managed to improve our result. It gives us much hope that we can finish our marathon and even win it with our honest style of politics." Matthew Vella
14:22 Meanwhile, in a separate press conference being held right now, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said he was satisfied with the result because the PN had started at a disadvantage. Miriam Dalli
14:20 Asked about the loss suffered by the PL in certain localities in the south, including the fifth district, Muscat said there were a number of factors at play including popular mayors who didn't contest this year's election. He also said that there were localities where Labour registered an increase: "We are happy with the 54% registered by the PL." Miriam Dalli
14:17 Labour will celebrate this year's local council elections in Marsa at 10am, Muscat said. Miriam Dalli
14:17 The Labour leader said the Opposition leader was "satisfied with the PN's loss ... if he's happy, well everyone's happy," he said. Miriam Dalli
14:15 Muscat said he received today's results with responsibility "establishing us as the electorate's natural choice". He said that PL had won two new localities - Munxar and Floriana - while St Paul's Bay will be decided as more votes are distributed. "We understand that there are people still waiting for their social justice. We understand there were those who chose not to go out to vote because they feel abandoned. We will read all messages," he said. Miriam Dalli
14:13 Prime Minister Joseph Muscat addressing a press conference at Auberge de Castille: says electorate chose "optimism over negativity" and described the win as in line with the majorities Labour obtained in the general election and the EP elections.

"The public gave us a majority of 54%," he said, adding that the Labour Party repeatedly confirmed its comfortable and solid majority with the electorate. Miriam Dalli

14:13 Simon Busuttil and Joseph Muscat are both giving press conferences, and both seem to be crying victory…
Busuttil says “The PN is back in business… We have halved Labour’s margin confirming that the route we set out on was the correct one.”
Matthew Vella
13:52 Euphoria in the counting hall as incumbent Siggiewi mayor Karol Aquilina is elected, securing a PN win on the locality. Miriam Dalli
13:39 Official figures show Labour won Floriana with 664 votes (48.50%), while PN got 446 votes (32.58%). Independent candidate and former mayor Nigel Holland got 132 votes (9.64%) while independent candidate Publio Agius got 127 votes (9.28%). Miriam Dalli
13:35 Miriam Dalli
13:33 It is confirmed: Labour won Floriana - a rare victory in a locality used to an independent mayor - with three seats against the two elected by the PN. Miriam Dalli
13:31 News is coming in that the Labour Party has won the majority in Floriana Miriam Dalli
13:06 PN have retained Siggiewi with around 52% of the total votes. Incumbent mayor Karol Aquilina looks set to win re-election. Tim Diacono
13:05 Labour have retained Qormi, and incumbent mayor Rosianne Cutajar is the front-runner to get re-elected. Tim Diacono
13:03 Ian Spiteri (PN) is Balzan mayor with 528 votes. Tim Diacono
12:43 Karl Gouder elected St Julian's mayor. Miriam Dalli
12:37 Christian Sammut is Hamrun mayor with 1,513 votes. Miriam Dalli
12:14 Noel Muscat re-elected PN mayor in Swieqi with 1,172 votes,. and indications that PN have kept Mosta. Miriam Dalli
12:05 Mario de Marco told us:
“The PN’s result has to be taken in its own context. The margin between both parties has fallen from the 17% of 2012… the PN has increased its vote counts and percentages in various localities, and decreased its vote share in Gozo. One has to analysis the reasons for these changes.
“We did not go into these elections with a presumption that we’d win the absolute majority – this is a positive development but we keep a sense of realism, there is still a lot of work to be done, in Gozo too.”
Miriam Dalli
12:03 PN deputy leader Mario de Marco said that the PN had to study the reasons why they lost votes in Gozo. “It is too early to indicate what our problems in Gozo were,” he said. “This is a positive result, but it is only the first step for us and we still have a lot of work to do. However, it clearly shows that our work on the ground throughout the campaign has born fruit.” Tim Diacono
12:03 In Gzira, Conrad Borg Manché will be mayor for Labour with 560 votes, PN's Wayne Hewitt takes 638 votes and Graziella Schembri was voted in with 578 votes. Labour has an 8% majority on Gzira, but the PN has reduced the margin over 2012. Miriam Dalli
12:00 PN secretary-general Chris Said says Labour will win St Paul's Bay. Miriam Dalli
11:58 Opposition leader Simon Busuttil: This is a very satisfactory result for the PN because we have reduced the margin enjoyed by Labour by almost half. Miriam Dalli
11:53 PN secretary general Chris Said says the PN has managed to cut down the PL's 17-point lead of 2012 down to some nine points, saying this was a satisfactory result for the party. Miriam Dalli
11:48 Labour parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon: 'A convincing victory for Labour'

Miriam Dalli
11:47 Mario de Marco: 'Positive developments for PN in Maltese localities'

Miriam Dalli
11:43 Miriam Dalli
11:37 Miriam Dalli
11:35 Unofficial figues show a 16,500 vote gap between Labour and PN. Miriam Dalli
11:17 John Schembri (PL) is Luqa mayor with 964 votes Miriam Dalli
11:05 Miriam Dalli
11:02 Joseph Muscat: "I am satisfied that the Labour Party has garnered the majority. Initial indications suggest a clear majority of around 54%... this is an 11-point margin over PN; Mosta, St Paul's Bay and Qormi will determine the official results. This is an important mid-term test: the first a governing party achieved such a majority, and explains that the PL has managed to retain marginal localities such as Safi, Qala, and for the first time, Munxar." Miriam Dalli
10:50 Prime Minister Joseph Muscat says Labour won local councils elections with a 54% clear majority. Miriam Dalli
10:38 Clive Pulis and Joseph Pulis elected in Senglea (l-Isla) council for Labour. Miriam Dalli
10:35 Labour take Xaghra with 59% Miriam Dalli
10:21 In Floriana, independent candidate Nigel Holland has pipped Publio Agius by five votes with 132 votes. Miriam Dalli
10:20 In Ghajnsielem, Labour has elected Larry Buttigieg with 433 votes, while Franco Ciangura and Kevin Cauchi were elected for the PN on 399 and 360 votes respectively. Miriam Dalli
10:10 Indications that the PN could have won Zebbug in Gozo. Miriam Dalli
10:07 Xaghra first count votes: PL with 59%, PN with 41% - votes cast 3,377 and 189 invalid. Miriam Dalli
10:03 PN sources confident they have retained Siggiewi majority with a 1% increase in votes. Miriam Dalli
10:03 Matthew Paris (PN) and Davina Sammut (PL) elected on Floriana. Miriam Dalli
09:54 Swieqi, with an unofficial 74% first count vote for the PN, has increase support for the PN by 9%. Miriam Dalli
09:51 Correction to Kirkop's new mayor Terence Agius - he is 18 and one month... not 20 years of age. Miriam Dalli
09:47 PN sources say the party has increased vote counts in Marsaxlokk and Birzebbugia by 10%, Marsa by 5%, Balzan by 7%, Santa Lucia by 2-3%, Isla by 2%, Gharghur and Kercem by 2%, San Lawrenz by 5%, and Hamrun by 2%. Miriam Dalli
09:44 Mayors elected so far are: Giljan Aquilina (PN), 20, for Gharghur; John Boxall (PL) for Birgu; Noel Formosa (PN) for San Lawrenz; Carmen Said (PL) for Munxar; Clint Camilleri (PL) for Qala; Terence Agius (PL), 20, for Kirkop; Anthony Dalli (PN) for Iklin and Mario Azzopardi (PN) for Kercem. Miriam Dalli
09:23 Nadur, traditionally a PN stronghold, is one of the battlegrounds for both parties. Early indications show that the two parties are very close, but it is still too early to say where the majority is going. Miriam Dalli
09:16 Miriam Dalli
09:09 The PN has registered an increase in votes in Swieqi, Luqa and Balzan. Miriam Dalli
09:01 Gharghur has retained its PN majority. Miriam Dalli
08:59 It’s official: Munxar goes to Labour with two candidates elected on the first count. Carmen Said (PL), with 199 votes, was the first to be elected followed by Robert Mallia (PL) with 179 votes. David Spiteri (PN) was elected with 146 votes. Miriam Dalli
08:46 Isla, tight, but looks like Labour has registered an increase of 3%. In 2012, the PL had won by 76%. Indications are that Labour may have retained its four-seat majority in Birgu. Miriam Dalli
08:43 In Qala, Clint Camilleri – PL MEP candidate and a party favourite in Gozo – was re-elected as mayor and indications are that Labour won by at least 58% compared with the PL win of 50.3% in 2012. Miriam Dalli
08:36 Ghajnsielem appears to have retained its PN majority although indications are that the PN suffered a reduction in votes. Three Labour candidates, four PN candidates and an independent are in the running, of which only five can be elected.

So far, it looks like Labour has a strong showing in Gozo with only San Lawrenz registering a drop in support.

Miriam Dalli
08:25 Sources say that the Munxar was won by a 53% majority – and not by 60% as reported earlier. We remind our readers that the results we are bringing are unofficial and are based on the projections being carried out.

Meanwhile, Labour has retained its majority in Safi and Xaghra.

Miriam Dalli
08:22 The independent candidates in Floriana – Publio Agius and mayor Nigel Holland – are thought to have done well as projections indicate towards a loss in popularity for both Labour and PN. Miriam Dalli
08:15 Indications at Hal Kirkop point towards a 10% loss for Labour. Former Labour mayor Mario Salerno (who had resigned as mayor of St Paul's Bay) contested this locality on an independent ticket. It looks like he has done well.

Voter turnout in Kirkop this year was of 79%.

Miriam Dalli
08:04 Qala has retained its Labour majority Miriam Dalli
07:58 Our reporters in the counting hall confirm a PL win in Munxar (929 votes cast), with a 60% majority. The locality has switched to Labour. Miriam Dalli
07:56 The first mayor to be elected is Noel Formosa (PN) with 222 votes in San Lawrenz. Early indications are that Labour may have won a majority in Munxar – but we repeat that it is still too early to say for sure. 930 votes were cast in the Gozitan locality, 67 of which were dubious. Miriam Dalli
07:39 Indications are that the PN may have suffered a 10% decrease in Munxar. These are unofficial figures. Miriam Dalli
07:37 Miriam Dalli
07:33 San Lawrenz, the smallest locality this year, has retained its PN majority with preliminary results pointing towards a 71% win for the PN in the Gozitan locality.

Six candidates – two for Labour and four for the PN – contested the election. Five councillors have to be elected. 495 votes were cast and the quota to be met is of 77. 39 votes were dubious.

Ray Attard
07:31 The Labour Party is expected to clinch a victory in these elections, which would mean that the Labour administration would become the first government to register a local councils’ election victory.

Joseph Muscat said he wanted to win these elections “even by a vote” while the PN had been more tongue-tied over their expectations arguing that “the PL was starting off with a 17% majority”. In 2012, the PN obtained 40.7% compared with Labour's 57.3%.

Voter turnout has increased from 59% in 2012 to 68% last Saturday. The turnout, coupled with the referendum on spring hunting, however raised several assumptions of where the votes are going. Localities such as Attard registered an increase in local councils’ voter turnout, but so did pro-hunting localities also known to be labour strongholds. Ray Attard

06:36 Welcome to our live blog! A weekend of vote-counting, electoral banter and perspex-banging is guaranteed for all in our rolling coverage of the 2015 local councils' elections.

Sorting of the ballot sheets has kicked off after which counting will immediately start in the individual localities.

34 localities took part in these elections with the Nationalist Party fielding 185 candidates, Labour with 177 candidates and AD fielded seven candidates. Miriam Dalli