[WATCH] Historic night for Labour as electorate punishes PN

Labour clinches the capital • Nadur is PN’s saving grace • AD flounder in St Julians • Independent candidate elected in Zebbug

Valletta was a historic catch for the Labour Party
Valletta was a historic catch for the Labour Party
Louis Gatt says historic Valletta win reflects nationwide shift

The Labour Party’s historic victory in Valletta was reflective of a nationwide swing towards the party, according to Louis Gatt.

The head of the PL’s electoral office said this was a good night for the party as it won Valletta for the first time, regained St Paul’s Bay and held on to Mellieħa, considered as a touch-and-go locality.

“The swing was felt everywhere and this led to the historic win in Valletta,” Gatt said.

The party secured a stronger presence in localities that it already held and in Marsa it won six of the seven seats up for grabs.

The PL also won a majority of votes in Fontana but only a minority of seats. This was a locality that in the past used to return very strong PN majorities.

In Pembroke the PL clinched 60.8% of the vote against the PN's 39.2%. In the 2013 election, the PL had obtained 54.7% versus the PN's 42.3%. This result was particularly significant, albeit achieved against a low turnout.

On the other end of the spectrum, this was a very bad night for the Nationalist Party with the loss of Valletta marking a new low.

The PN could only muster 45.9% in Valletta, against the PL’s 53%. In the last local elections in 2013, the PN won the capital with 51.6% versus the PL’s 48.4%.

This was the first time that the PL clinched a majority in the capital, a locality that PN leader Adrian Delia had wanted to hold on to.

While retaining good majorities in localities like St Julians and Iklin, the PN registered a pyric victory in Nadur, where the party increased its support on the back of a strong performance by mayor Edward Said.

A small consolation for Delia was the fact that his brother Anthony Delia was elected councillor in St Paul’s Bay.

Elections were held in 68 localities
Elections were held in 68 localities

There are two more rounds of vote counting that will take place on Thursday and Friday. This was the first time that elections were held in all 68 councils together, giving a representative picture of the parties’ strength nationwide.

Independent candidate on Żebbuġ, Steve Zammit Lupi, was the only one to break the two-party deadlock by getting elected on the first count.

Alternattiva Demokratika did badly in St Julians, where chairperson Carmel Cacopardo could only muster 3.9%. In 2015, an AD candidate had managed 5.5% in St Julians.

But the third-party vote was this time around split, with Democratic Party candidate Ray Azzopardi receiving 1.8%.