“Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party has performed well in Saturday’s local council elections; we have made good use of our experience,” chairperson Harry Vassallo said yesterday.
Speaking during a press conference at the party headquarters at Sliema, Dr Vassallo expressed his satisfaction particularly at the results obtained at Swieqi, Attard and Munxar.
“We are pleased with our exceptional result in Munxar, where we polled approximately 12 per cent of the first count votes and missed electing our candidate by just two votes,” said Dr Vassallo.
Speaking to The Malta Independent, Dr Vassallo said AD is considering calling for a recount in the Gozitan locality, considering that the difference in votes was so minimal. Asked whether environmental issues had any effects on the way people voted, Dr Vassallo said every locality has its own way of reacting to issues. While Gzira will be badly effected by development in Sliema and St Julian’s, he added, AD did not achieve as good a result there as the one scored in Munxar.
“The Gozitan village was one of the localities that was badly hit by the extension of development zones. Nobody ever bothered about Munxar until AD spoke about. Then, all of a sudden, the media discovered Munxar and started talking about it on a daily basis. AD’s presence in Munxar was so disturbing to the Nationalist Party that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi embarked on a three-day tour of Munxar during the electoral campaign and was even present in Munxar on election day.”
Dr Vassallo added that the PN leader visited also AD candidate Michael Angelo Bajada’s relatives and told them that “a vote for AD is a vote for the Malta Labour Party”.
The AD chairman was very satisfied with Rene Rossignaud and Ralph Cassar, who were elected in Swieqi and Attard respectively. Dr Vassallo said the electorate appreciated Mr Cassar’s work when he was a councillor and continued to appreciate his work notwithstanding the fact that he was not a councillor during the last term.
The Swieqi result, considering the 900 unclaimed voting documents, can be interpreted as a protest vote against the PN; however, Dr Vassallo said a vote to AD is not only a protest vote, but also an investment. He stated that AD’s mere presence in a council, even in a large council as in Sliema, can make a difference. “AD can put some sense in council where it is represented and mitigate the parties’ rivalry.”
Dr Vassallo said AD’s performance is in line with its performance in local elections. “Although the electoral commission claims that AD garnered 2.15 per cent,” commented Dr Vassallo, “the party has in reality gained approximately six per cent, as it contested only seven localities out of 22. It is unfair to calculate our performance on a 22-locality basis as is unfair giving a zero to someone who has not sat for an exam.”
In the future, said Dr Vassallo, AD will through personal contact try to attract the votes of what he described as the biggest party in Malta, the undecided voters. AD has become a force to be reckoned with, claimed Dr Vassallo.