Local council elections were held for 23 localities in Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 on 11 March 2006. Traditionally, this round of elections has given positive results to the Nationalist Party

Nationalist Party (Malta)

The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the...

 , with the biggest villages apart from Żabbar

Zabbar

Ħaż-Żabbar is the fourth largest town in Malta, with a population of 17,030 . Originally a part of Żejtun, Ħaż-Żabbar was granted the title of Città Hompesch by the last of the Grandmasters of the Knights of St...

, being the traditional villages in which the Nationalist Party (Sliema

Sliema

Tas-Sliema is a city located on the northeast coast of Malta. It is a centre for shopping, restaurants and café life. Tas-Sliema is also a major commercial and residential area and houses several of Malta's most modern hotels. Tas-Sliema, which means 'peace, comfort', was once a quiet fishing...

, Naxxar

Naxxar

Naxxar is a village in the central north of Malta, with a population of about 13,647 people . The Naxxar Church is dedicated to Our Lady of Victories. The feast is celebrated on September 8...

, Birkirkara

Birkirkara

Birkirkara or B'Kara is a city of 25,858 inhabitants in central Malta. It is the most populated town on the island and consists of four autonomous parishes: St Helen, St Joseph, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Mary. It also houses one of the most famous colleges in Malta, St Aloysius' College...

) obtains best results. 88 per cent of the voting documents were collected.

Results

The Malta Labour Party (MLP) has won the Local Council elections with 53.8% of first count votes. The PN obtained 43% while Alternattiva Demokratika and independent candidates obtained 3.2%. 3.2% may seem insignificant on a national level but in one locality alone, namely Marsaskala

Marsaskala

Marsaskala is a sea-side village in Malta that has grown up around the small harbour at the head of Marsaskala Bay, a long narrow inlet also known as Marsaskala Creek...

, it translated in over 600 votes for the new independent group, G.I.M. headed by ex PN MP Dr Josie Muscat.

Other Election comments

• The Nationalist Party is at present in government. It has introduced several measures which might effect the election such as the rise in the price of electricity.

• A former Nationalist MP Dr Josie Muscat along with three other members of the new GIM "Grupp Indipendenti Marsascala". has successfully contested the elections in Marsaskala
  Marsaskala
  Marsaskala is a sea-side village in Malta that has grown up around the small harbour at the head of Marsaskala Bay, a long narrow inlet also known as Marsaskala Creek...
  
   as an independent candidate. The three other G.I.M contestants were Marvic Attard Gialanze ( first independent female mayor in the first ever local councils elections in 1994), John J Cole, and Mariella Cutajar. G.I.M or Grupp Indipendenti Marsaskala have their own web site at www.gimarsaskala.com

• There was criticism regarding the government's plans on a recycling plant in Marsascala and the recently announced large scale fish farm concentration just 6 km away from this idyllic picturesque sea-side village.

• Dr Josie Muscat was elected to Marsaskala's 2006/9 local council representing G.I.M., which group garnered well over 600 first votes. G.I.M. is against the waste recycling plant in Marsaskala , the fish farms industry just 6 km away from Marsascala and the exclusion of Marsaskala from the tourist zone by the government. Dr Josie Muscat's election is a loss and a warning to the Nationalist Party in government. It now has two councillors instead of the three it used to elect in Marsaskala.

• In Sliema
  Sliema
  Tas-Sliema is a city located on the northeast coast of Malta. It is a centre for shopping, restaurants and café life. Tas-Sliema is also a major commercial and residential area and houses several of Malta's most modern hotels. Tas-Sliema, which means 'peace, comfort', was once a quiet fishing...
  
  , local residents are angry at the approach the Local Council has taken to the building up of a new multi-storage car park in a residential area.