Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/839659
3 District 10 Nick Refalo who contested the election for first time and Gzira local council- lor Graziella Attard Previ obtained 2,153 and 1,883 votes respectively by the time they were eliminated, com- pared to Pullicino's 2,662. But all candidates will now start from scratch. Attard Previ has one significant advantage over Refalo and Pullicino; her surname. Moreover it may also more difficult for Pullicino to inherit votes from arch- district- rival Arrigo. If elected Refalo is also being seen as a potential contender for a post in the party's administration or leadership. District 7 Antoine Borg, who was close to be- ing elected with 3,256 votes, starts as favourite. But like all candidates he will start the casual election with zero votes. Sam Abela, Godfrey Far- rugia, David Vassallo and Peter Mi- callef could also be elected, after fin- ishing relatively close to one another with 1,733, 1,514, 1,105 and 856 votes respectively all have a good chance. Godfrey Farrugia's election would re- sult in the second PD candidate to be elected on PN list. District 11 Mosta Mayor Ivan Bartolo, who obtained a signifi- cant 2,163 votes, and former deputy PN treasurer Alex Perici Calascione, who received 1,269 votes started aw favourites. Maria Deguara, Alex Man- gion, and Graziella Galea may have a chance. District 13 Kevin Cutajar can potentially take his seat on district 13 after receiving 1,524 votes in the general election. David Stellini could also be in the race, having obtained 1,078 votes by his elimination. The return of the votes transferred from other candidates to Portelli may give Stellini a good chance. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 21 JUNE 2017 News Casual elections: The favourites for the PN seats A day after the Labour Party's list of MPs was finally completed, today is the turn of the Nationalist Party's casual elections. Five seats are up for grabs in four districts: the seat vacated by Beppe Fenech Adami on the seventh district, the seat vacated by Robert Arrigo on the 10th district, the two seats vacat- ed by Simon Busuttil and David Ag- ius on the 11th district, and the seat vacated by Marthese Portelli on the 13th district. Counting will commence at 8am. Follow live coverage of the elections on maltatoday.com.mt Godfrey Farrugia Graziella Attard Previ Despite residents' opposition Gharghur council gives blessing to fireworks factory extension Residents left concerned at impact of approved fireworks factory extension that will eat into the Madliena Valley TIM DIACONO The Gharghur local council has no plans to appeal a permit that will see a fireworks factory in the middle of the Madliena Valley double in size, despite en- vironmental concerns flagged by several residents. Gharghur, Madliena and Swieqi residents have been left surprised by the permit to the Ghaqda Tan-Nar San Bar- tilmew, which although refused back in 2014 was granted a day before the general election ear- lier this month. MaltaToday is informed that numerous residents are con- cerned but are afraid to voice them with their local council, due to the conflict of interest that has arisen due to the per- mit's applicant being the mayor's uncle. Some have also received threatening messages, although they are unable to confirm the source of the anonymous mes- sages. Residents who spoke to Mal- taToday on condition of ano- nymity said that their criticism is based off the fact that the ex- tension will see the factory inch closer towards residences, and that it will cause significant en- vironmental damage to the val- ley which many use as a recrea- tional safe space. The local council convened for a meeting on Monday, during which the councillors decided to commission an architect to analyse the technical details of the permit, but unanimously de- clared themselves in favour of it in principle. PN mayor Giljan Aquilina told MaltaToday that while the coun- cil sympathises with the resi- dents' concerns, it also under- stands the need to expand and modernise the current factory. "The fireworks materials are currently concentrated in a very small area, which gives rise to health and safety concerns," he said. "I sympathise with the en- vironmental concerns, but – un- like residential buildings – there is no other option for fireworks factories than to be built on ODZ land. "What would the other option be? Cutting out fireworks en- tirely, when it's part of our tradi- tion?" He denied that his stance was in any way influenced by the fact that his uncle – Isaac Aquilina – had represented the fireworks factory in its planning applica- tion. "My uncle is a volunteer with the group and doesn't stand to gain financially. Moreover, I had flagged my conflict of interest myself during yesterday's coun- cil meeting." The fireworks society had originally filed for a permit to expand and modernise the fac- tory following an explosion back in 2010, but the authority had rejected it in 2013 for environ- mental reasons. The Environment Protection Directorate, the precursor of the Environment and Resources Authority, had objected to the proposed extension because it would have meant the uproot- ing of rich, maquis vegetation – in particular mature carob trees – on a site that had been pro- posed for scheduling as a Level 2 Area of Ecological Importance. However, the same permit was approved this year on the basis of a 2014 fireworks policy, which was drafted by a committee chaired by current social policy minister Michael Falzon, him- self a lawyer of the pyrotechnic organisation. ERA board member pushing for formal objection The Environment and Re- sources Authority (ERA) has not yet decided whether to ap- peal against the decision or not, but its board member Alan Dei- dun – a biologist who represents green NGOs on the board – has pledged to do his utmost to get it to do so. "The development will take place in an ecologically sensitive area and an unspoiled and rela- tively unspoiled and undevel- oped landscape, and will involve the uprooting of trees," he told MaltaToday. "I have formally re- quested ERA to lodge an appeal before the 1 July deadline, and I am ready to kick up a storm to ensure it objects it. Should the fireworks policy trump en- vironmental concerns? I don't agree…" Deidun questioned why the permit was not granted by the Planning Board but by the Planning Commission, a three- person body within the PA en- trusted with vetting small-scale development applications. "We're not talking about ex- tending a farmers' room here, but about extending a fireworks factory to twice its current size," he said. "This decision will set a precedent to all other pending fireworks factory applications, most of which are also sited in ecologically sensitive areas." tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt George Pullicinov Nicl Refalo How candidates are elected In casual elections, the votes of the candidates giving up their seats are distributed among the remaining candidates according to voter preference. This means that having a larger number of first count votes does not give you any advantage over other candidates, although this may be an indication of the standing of the candidate in the district. In fact all candidates contesting in casual elections start from zero. Some will get back the votes they handed over to the elected candidate when they were eliminated. The donkey vote is also a factor, as a number of voters tend to vote for every candidate in the list after choosing their first and second preference. This means that having a surname starting with A, B or C can be at an advantage over those with a surname starting with an S, T or Z. Candidates who obtained a higher number of first count votes often stand a better chance of being elected, because it is more likely that they received the number two vote preferences from the elected candidates.