This is a quick round up of the salient news reported in Malta of the first day of the Electoral Campaign underway in Malta for the European Parliament and Local Elections scheduled for May 25th.
Let the race begin
The countdown to May 25th has begun, as the political parties really begin to gear up their party structures and mobilise their loyal members in preparation for the local council, and more importantly, the European Parliament elections.
This year will mark the first time that local council elections will be held for all localities at the same time. It will also be the first time 16-year-old will vote in MEP elections.
Apart from Maltese voters, in the case of the European Parliament election, citizens from European Union member states may vote here for Maltese candidates, once they register with the Electoral Commission. There are 18,375 who have registered, the biggest number are Britons with over 6,000. They are followed by Italian citizens with over 4,000, Bulgarians, Germans and Romanians.
Citizens of EU member states, who are resident in Malta, have an automatic right to vote in Local Council elections at the locality they live in. There are almost 80,000 of such foreigners listed in the electoral registry.
41 Candidates submit their nomination for the European Parliament
The six Maltese representatives at the European Parliament will be elected among 41 candidates. The Labour Party, with fourteen candidates, has the biggest number, while the Nationalist Party has 10 candidates and the Democratic Party will contest with four candidates.
The Electoral Commission said on Tuesday two candidates each were submitted by Alleanza Bidla, Alternattiva Demokratika and Moviment Patrijotti Maltin, one each by Brain not Ego and Imperium Europa, five were independent, four from the Partit Demokratiku, 14 by the Labour Party and 10 by the Nationalist Party.
Six MEPs have to be elected.
Saturday 25th May will also see the elections for the Local Councils, this time in each locality in Malta and Gozo – 68 in all. 464 councillors will be elected in these elections. There are 736 candidates contesting the local elections, with the Labour Party presenting 399 candidates and the Nationalist Party 296 candidates.
The Democratic Party will be contesting with seven candidates; Alternattiva Demokratika with nine; 25 other candidates are contesting with other parties and as independent candidates.
Elections will not be held at Imdina as only five candidates presented their nomination – the same number of elected councillors.
Read more – The Times of Malta / TVM
Labour Party will have different manifesto for each locality
The Labour Party will be unveiling a different electoral manifesto for each locality, Prime Minster Joseph Muscat said on Monday. Speaking on One TV, Muscat said the PL will officially launch its election campaign on Sunday, during its general conference.
“You cannot go before the people empty handed. You have to go with an offer, which is our manifesto. The PL will launch a manifesto for each locality together with other general proposals that will breathe new life into our localities,” Muscat said.
People expect their MEPs to be critical of the government but do not accept those who denigrate their country at every turn, Joseph Muscat said.
Next month’s elections first step in the PN strengthening itself – Delia Says
May’s local council and European Parliament elections are the first step in the Nationalist Party’s efforts to strengthen itself in order to offer a serious alternative to the present government, party leader Adrian Delia said on Monday.
The PN leader was speaking at the launch of the party’s campaign for the upcoming elections, in which it will be fielding a total of ten candidates for the European Parliament and 295 candidates at local council level.
PD candidate Charles Polidano attacked outside home
Partit Demokratiku local council candidate Charles Polidano was attacked outside his home on Monday evening in an incident described as politically motivated by the party.
Partit Demokratiku decribed the physical assault suffered by its Qrendi local council candidate just outside his home in front of a friend and fellow resident as incident that shows that the ‘tyranny of intolerance is becoming bolder’. PD stated that a police report was filed shortly after the incident.
Read more – Newsbook
The BillBoard Saga:
The Nationalist Party’s electoral campaign for next month’s local council and European Parliament elections got off to a rocky start this morning, after a glaring spelling mistake was noticed in one of the billboards erected by the party around the island. MaltaToday
Mere hours after the PN unveiled two billboards with a spelling mistake, the Labour Party hit back strongly, erecting its very own spoof billboard by the University of Malta. LovinMalta
Polls
MaltaToday
POLITICO
Analysis
The battle for the PN’s disgruntled vote
A battle is on for that part of the Nationalist vote which still shuns party leader Adrian Delia and craves for a different Opposition. The latest MaltaToday Survey shows that 22% of PN voters in 2017 are today undecided, double the amount of PL voters in the same position. A further 13% of PN voters would not vote, compared to 9% of PL voters.
A lazy analysis would suggest that most of these voters belong to the so-called ‘Daphne crowd’ – the followers of a constellation of groups advocating for ‘rule of law’ who consider Delia as Joseph Muscat’s “useful idiot” Yet a deeper analysis suggests that this category includes a wide cross-section of voters, including moderates, who though deeply concerned by rule of law issues, do not identify with Caruana Galizia’s divisive legacy. The group probably contains floating voters and even former Labour and Alternattiva Demokratika voters who voted PN in 2017 simply because they were shocked by Panamagate.
It may also include PN voters who were disoriented by the conclusions of the Egrant inquiry and who may even be warming up to Labour. This group of voters is now being presented with three electoral options, namely voting for the Partit Demokratiku, voting for independent candidate Arnold Cassola and voting for the David Casa and Roberta Metsola tandem.
Potential to see smaller parties gain momentum
As for the other parties, PD and AD can both potentially do well for their size. They are extremely unlikely to be in the running for an MEP seat, however could potentially set themselves up to keep growing as parties if they play their cards right. Both have good candidates for the Elections, such as AD’s Carmel Cacopardo who is a very respected name in Malta’s pro-environment movements. As for the Partit Demokratiku, Godfrey Farrugia’s recent surprise nomination for the MEP elections could see more votes go their way, given potential voter dissatisfaction with both major political parties and his position as a Maltese Member of Parliament. They could see more success in the local council elections than in the MEPs.
CD
