It is normal that the month of February brings with it a series of activities held by the three political parties contesting the local council elections which will be held in the first half of March.

This year it will be no exception, and the Nationalist Party, the Malta Labour Party and Alternattiva Demokratika have all already increased the number of political events as they prepare themselves for the big day. These activities are bound to increase as the election date draws nearer.

What will happen will be no surprise to anyone – the PN will say that the councils led by a Nationalist majority have done better than those led by the MLP; on the other hand, the MLP will insist that the councils with a Labour majority nearly achieved all they set out to do while the PN-led councils did much worse (will we have the percentages again this year?). For its part, AD will say that the presence of a Green representative in some of the councils made a difference.

Whether the election to be held on 10 March is the last test for the political parties before the national poll is not known. Some observers think that it is probable that it will be, and that the 2008 local council elections will be linked to the general election, unless, of course, this is held later this year. What is sure is that all three parties will be doing their utmost to gain as much support as possible next month, although it must be repeated that elections at local level can in no way be compared to a national poll.

The PN has lost the last three local council elections, and it would like to see a reversal of trends as it heads towards the bigger examination. The MLP would like to notch another victory that would strengthen its morale and conviction that the people would like to see a change in government. AD would like to consolidate what it has and build upon it to gain further encouragement as it seeks to win its first parliamentary seat.

Since their setting up in 1993, local councils have changed the country’s political spectrum. Many have brought about big changes in their locality; others have worked less hard and should have done better. Some have been involved in controversies; while others have more or less kept a low profile.

Most local councils have remained led by the party that won the first time, whereas a few have changed hands along the way.

Changes to the law that now sees the candidate obtaining the highest number of votes from among those of the winning party taking the role of mayor have increased the competition among the prospective councillors.

Some see this as the just prize for the most popular candidate, although it must be said that an outgoing mayor who is contesting again has an advantage over the rest of the candidates as he has more exposure than the other councillors. Perhaps it would be a good idea to limit the number of terms that a mayor could remain in office for, say to three consecutive times. In the current system, this would enable a mayor to stay in office for a total of nine years.

Discussions are known to have taken place between the political parties to try to come to an agreement over a possible extension to a council’s term of office.

Three years are considered to be too short a time for a council to work and fulfil all its promises. But no agreement has as yet been reached and it is likely that this matter has been put way down in the agenda at a time when there are more serious electoral issues at hand.

Local councils have brought about a great change in the political system. What all councillors should remember is that they were elected by the residents, for the residents, and that they all should do their utmost to upgrade their locality.