PL win Local Council Elections but lose 27,000 votes since 2019

The Partit laburista won the 2024 Local Elections with a lead of 20,250 votes over the PN.

However, the PL significantly declined its vote share from 2019, dropping by almost 27,000 votes. The PN gained almost 14,000 votes from its meagre tally in 2019.

The PN also managed to win back a significant number of councils such as St Paul's Bay, Mosta, Siggiewi, San Gwann and Msida as well as Zebbug in Gozo. The PL also lost its majority in Zebbug, Malta and in Mellieha and Birkirkara, the PN won a significant majority of votes.

An analysis which grouped local council results according to the electoral district in which the locality falls, shows that the PL enjoys an absolute majority in the first six districts. In the 7th District, which includes, Żebbuġ, the PL enjoys a relative majority after a strong showing by independent candidates.

Not all of Labour’s losses went to the PN, which is a sign that voters are not yet convinced that the Opposition is a government in waiting. However, the PN has cause for hope since it registered improvements across all districts.

The PN’s strongest gains were in the 11th District, which includes Mosta that it managed to flip. In this district, the PN saw its share of the vote increase by 6.5 points.

The second highest gains were registered in the 9th District, where the PN vote increased by 6.1 points. This district includes the localities of Msida and San Gwann, which the PN flipped in its favour.

The lowest gains were registered in the 1st and 2nd districts, where the PN only managed to increase its vote tallies by 0.8 points and 1.4 points respectively.

The PN enjoys absolute majorities in all districts between the 8th and 13th and has significantly widedned the gap in the 12th district now enjoying a 17 point advantage over the PL.

The major difference with 2019 is that the PN managed to switch Gozo in its favour, obtaining 50.6% this year against the PL’s 46.1%. Five years ago, local elections saw the PL win Gozo with 50.4%, a trend that was later confirmed in the 2022 general election, when it went on to win the 13th District with 53.5%.

In Saturday’s local elections the PN managed to flip Żebbuġ (Gozo) in its favour, while the PL suffered significant losses in Xaghra and Qala despite winning a majority. The PN also massively increased its vote in Munxar increasing by a whopping 24% and also gained a councilor.

However, the analysis also shows that the PL suffered losses in all districts, some significantly heavier than others.

The PL’s heaviest losses were in the 7th District, where it lost 9.9 points over 2019, followed by the 8th District, which includes Birkirkara, where it shed 9.2 points.

The PL’s third highest decrease was registered in the 3rd District, which includes Marsaskala, where it saw its share of the vote decline by 7.3 points.