Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1220238
4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 MARCH 2020 NEWS DAVID HUDSON DAVID Thake has been elected on the twelfth dis- trict and will be taking up his seat in Parliament as a PN MP after a clamorous casual election where he obtained the same number of votes as Graziella Galea. Galea and Thake each inherited 1,877 votes from Simon Busuttil. However, after a deliberation be- tween the Electoral Com- mission and representa- tives from the PN and PL, it was agreed that Galea would be eliminated since Thake obtained more first- count votes than her. Thake, a radio host, got 1,654 first-count votes to- day, which Galea, the for- mer mayor of St Paul's Bay, got 1,323. However, both achieved the same total of 1,877, in what was a histor- ic first. Following a discussion, it was decided to consider first-count votes, which means that Thake will be co-opted to Parliament as a PN MP to take the seat vacated by Busuttil. Earlier Galea and Thake emerged as the front runners to in- herit the votes of the Na- tionalist Party's former leader. The casual election was needed after Busuttil resigned his parliamenta- ry seat to take up a senior post with the European People's Party in Brussels. But for veteran election observers, the perfect tie between Galea and Thake was a historic occasion. The casual election of the 12th District saw five nominees battle it out, but it was clear from the get-go that Thake and Galea were at the front of the race. In the race on the ninth district, entrepreneur Ivan Bartolo led the race with 1,069 first-count votes to Swieqi Mayor, Noel's Mus- cat's 816 first-count votes. Bartolo achieved a total of 2,206 votes. wBartolo, who started a petition last year to oust Delia, has taken Marthese Portelli's vacant parlia- mentary seat. The petition last June led to a vote of confidence in the PN leader, who he won by 67.5% of the vote. Bartolo didn't rule out vy- ing for leader himself. In comments to the me- dia after the casual election result was announced in Naxxar, Thake said: "This is not an issue of single people. We are a team and as a team we need to work together to be a viable al- ternative." Bartolo refused to ad- dress his criticism of Delia and thanked Portelli for her work and the voters who got him elected. David Thake elected to Parliament after clamorous tie with Graziella Galea IVAN Bartolo has won the seat vacated by Marthese Portelli and has been co-opted in parlia- ment. Bartolo, an entrepre- neur, has inherited 1,654 first-count votes from Portelli and was the clear leader from the get-go in today's vote-count race in Naxxar. The ninth district saw seven candidates vying for the seat, but Bartolo and Noel Muscat, the Swieqi mayor, were the clear favourites. Bartolo started a petition last year to oust PN lead- er Adrian Delia. This eventually led to a vote of con- fidence in the leader last June, which Delia won by 67.5% of the vote. At the time, Bartolo didn't rule out vying for the leadership role himself. Asked to comment on his past criticism of Delia and how this would pan out since he was now co-opted in parliament, Bartolo refused to comment. He instead thanked Portelli for her work and the voters who got him elected. Ivan Bartolo will fill the parliamentary seat vacated by Marthese Portelli on ninth district David Thake (left) and Ivan Bartolo (right) addressing the media with deputy PN leader David Agius after yesterday's elections Explosives raid Terror squad arrest man with arms, drug trafficking history MATTHEW AGIUS A man was yesterday charged in court af- ter allegedly trying to import explosives into Malta. Inspectors George Cremona and Omar Zammit charged 34-year-old de- livery man Jomic Calleja Maatouk from Haz-Zebbug, before magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras, with attempting to im- port explosives into Malta in breach of the Criminal Code and the Explosives Ordinance. He was also accused of breaching pre- vious bail conditions and recidivism. The accused stood arms crossed in the dock tapping his foot impatiently as the charges were read out. Inspector Omar Zammit explained that the police had been investigating the case since 28 Au- gust last year. Lawyer Benjamin Valenzia entered a not guilty plea on the man's behalf. Bail was not requested at this stage. Valenzia asked that the man's name be banned from publication as media re- ports had mentioned terrorism charges, but the charges against him were not terrorism-related, although he was ar- rested by the anti-terrorism branch of the police. The man was young and had a family, argued the lawyer, saying that once tarnished his name would never be rehabilitated. Inspector Zammit opposed the re- quest, however, saying that the man was of age and the charges were serious. The court said it was convinced that the me- dia would faithfully report the charges, and in view of the fact that the man was not a minor, it denied the request. Calleja was arrested by Malta's an- ti-terrorism squad in connection with materials used in the production of ex- plosives. The police said the man was arrest- ed following what was described as a "lengthy" investigation. "Various elec- tronic objects were sequestered by an- ti-terrorism officers during searches made in the property, as well as various vehicles," the police said. A magisterial inquiry is underway. Jomic Calleja has a lengthy history of criminal offences