Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/483475
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 22 MARCH 2015 8 JAMES DEBONO ONLY seven councils of the 34 which will have elections on April 11 have ever switched from one party to the other. Three of these – Safi, St Paul's Bay and Qala – changed ma- jority only in the 2012 election. The other three swing councils are Mosta, which the PN regained in 2012 despite not having a first count majority, Gzira in which the PL in- creased its majority by eight points in 2012, and Qormi, which switched to the PN only in 1996 but has been solidly Labour in every subsequent election, with the party winning 64% in 2012. Labour has also won the last four elections in Hamrun, winning the last one with 62% of the votes. The strength of the PL's major- ity in recent elections suggests that Qormi, Gzira and Hamrun are be- yond the PN's reach. The closest battle in this round of elections is expected in Mosta which the PL won only in 2007, and which the PN regained only in 2012, with the tightest of majorities. Close battles are also expected in Qala and Safi, where Labour has a very small majority, and in St Paul's Bay, where the PN may benefit from dis- e n c h a n t - ment with the current Labour-led council. The spring hunting refer- endum is also expected t o have a bearing on results as this will probably increase the turnout in council elections, especially in localities which are either strongly opposed to or strongly in favour of hunting. Labour clearly starts at an advan- tage, having a majority in 19 out of the 34 councils where elections are due. Moreover Labour has a major- ity of over 60% in 15 localities. The PN has a majority of over 60% in only eight localities. The 2012 watershed Most localities included in this round of council elections had their previous election in 2012 which saw Labour making strategic inroads by unseating PN majorities in St Paul's Bay, Safi and Qala, which had previously always gone to the PN. Recovering any of these councils will be the strategic goal of the PN this time round. Labour has also re- tained and strength- ened its majority in two councils, Gzira and Xaghra, which it had won for the first time in the previous round; even if it saw its meagre first count majority in Mosta shrink from 427 to 14. Labour's historic victory in St Paul's Bay coincided with an abys- mal turnout of just 35% (compared to 68% in 2008), which suggests that the absent Nationalist voter played a role in Labour's 2012 victory. But the scale of the PN's losses – the PN saw its voting share decline by 10 points – indicated that there were voters had actually switched. In Qala, where turnout fell from 77% to 67%, PN losses can also be partly attributed to abstentions. The PL's majority in Qala is the most fragile, with the party winning only 50.3% in 2012. By retaining this lo- cality Labour would confirm the in- roads made in the last general elec- tion in Gozo. In Safi the 2012 result suggests that voters had switched sides. In fact turnout in this locality dropped by just a percentage point while the PN lost seven points. The referendum factor This round of elections could see a higher turnout due to the hunting referendum, being held on the same day. Strong anti-hunting majorities in PN strongholds such as Attard, Balzan, St Julian's and Swieqi could help the party increase its national percentage in the elections. St Paul's Bay, which was lost by the PN only in 2012, had seen a massive decrease in turnout, and that ben- efited the PL. Moreover while the PN retains St Julian's it also saw a massive dip in support amidst a low turnout in 2012. Therefore the referendum could help the PN in its battle to regain St Paul's Bay and to recover its full strength in St Julian's. This is be- cause surveys show a large percent- age of PN voters (around 70%) will be voting against spring hunting. PN voters who turn up to vote 'no' may be more likely to cast their vote for their party. The hunting referendum could al- News The battle for the Call for Quotations: Hosting of an international conference for the IMaGenX project The Malta Council for Science and Technology is requesting quotations for hosting an international conference for the IMaGenX project between Thursday 25th June, 2015 and Friday, 26th June 2015. Tenderers are requested to submit their proposals for the provision of a conference hall with a capacity of maximum 100 persons seated in theatre style. The successful tenderer must take into account the necessary preparations the tenderer would be making prior to the conference and the dismantling of equipment following the conference. Further information can be downloaded from www.etenders.gov.mt. Interested bidders are to submit a proposal on the mentioned website. The Malta Council For Science And Technology, Villa Bighi, Kalkara KKR 1320, Malta www.mcst.gov.mt Nurses' boss given MATTHEW VELLA THE president of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has called it a day after the vociferous union leader was effectively voted 'out' by placing eighth in the election of 10 council members. The election took place on Friday, with incumbent secretary-general Colin Galea topping the list with 1,400 votes, followed by Maria Cutajar with about 1,200 votes. Pace obtained some 800 votes Pace's style often saw him at log- gerheads with health ministers from both sides of the House. He told members in his resignation letter that he had always worked in their interest "sometimes quite passion- ately and literally round the clock". During his presidency Pace clinched two sectoral collective agreements and a civil service agree- ment. "I can assure you I never hid be- hind anyone and always tried my best when members bombarded me on the phone on a daily basis, even late at night. It was a great honour representing you for these last eight MEPA rejects regularisation of Ghammar hill illegalities THE Malta Environment and Plan- ning Authority's Environment Plan- ning Commission on Tuesday unan- imously turned down an application to regularise excavation works car- ried out in 2008 on the site of a villa which once belonged to the late former President Agatha Barbara. The villa, legally constructed in the 1980s, is set on the picturesque Ghammar hill opposite the Ta' Pinu shrine. The illegal works carried out six years after the former President's death and after the villa was sold to third parties were first reported by MaltaToday in 2008 after being alerted by residents. The decision to refute the permit was based on a case officer report which claims that the removal of clay from the area had a major nega- tive impact on the site's geological features. In its decision MEPA claimed that the construction of a retaining wall had an adverse visual impact on a site of considerable scenic value. Moreover the development was also in violation of the structure plan, which prohibits the extraction of significant amounts of blue clay. According to the report the ex- cavation of a clay slope to build a retaining wall around the secluded villa, "had a destabilising effect on the clay of the area" a Malta Envi- ronment and Planning Authority case officer report warned. The case officer report also states that "no permit can be traced" for development on the same site pho- tographed in aerial photos taken in 1988. "Should no permits be traced, the villa would be allegedly illegal and the site would have to be reinstated to its original state," the case officer report says. But over the past days MaltaToday has been contacted by relatives of the former President who have no connection with the present own- ers, who still have a copy of permit PB 2446/83. The permit foresaw the development of a "dwelling" on the same site, thus proving that the original villa was legally constructed. The permit was issued on 22 Febru- ary, 1984 when Agatha Barbara was President of the Republic. Councils in this round which changed majority at least once Gap between Current the parties majority Percentage points Mosta 0.2 points* PN Qormi** 29 points PL Gzira 11 points PL Xaghra, Gozo 5 points PL St Paul's Bay 9 points PL Qala 0.6 points PL Hamrun*** 25 points PL * PN got fewer first count votes than PL but won majority of seats after vote transfers ** Qormi switched to PN in 1996 but has been solidly Labour ever since *** Hamrun has been won by the PL since 2001 St Paul's Bay 9 points PL Qala 0.6 points PL Hamrun where the PN may The spring hunting refer- endum is also expected t o have a bearing on results as this will probably increase the turnout in council elections, especially in localities which are either strongly opposed to or strongly in favour of Labour clearly starts at an advan- tage, having a majority in 19 out of the 34 councils where elections are due. Moreover Labour has a major- ity of over 60% in 15 localities. The PN has a majority of over 60% in only eight localities. The 2012 watershed Most localities included in this round of council elections had their previous election in 2012 which saw Labour making strategic inroads by unseating PN majorities in St Paul's Bay, Safi and Qala, which had previously always gone to the PN. Recovering any of these councils will be the strategic goal of the PN this time round. Labour has also re- tained and strength- *** 25 points PL * PN got fewer first count votes than PL but won majority of seats after vote transfers ** Qormi switched to PN in 1996 but has been solidly Labour ever since *** Hamrun has been won by the PL since 2001 Joseph Muscat at a party campaign activity