Independent candidate Arnold Cassola told The Malta Independent that he was very happy to be told that he is ranking in third place in total first-preference votes attained, though he has no other indications pertaining to the election results since he does not have access to the constant updates that the two major parties, PL and PN, receive from the Electoral Commission.
Speaking to this newsroom, he thanked journalists for informing him that he is only ranking behind the major parties’ respective juggernaut candidates, Roberta Metsola and Alex Agius Saliba, in total first-preference votes received.
When asked for his thoughts on this, he responded, “I cannot know as I have no access.”
“The Electoral Commission does not give me or Alternattiva or any third party access to the number of votes which the PN and PL have every 5 minutes, updated,” he said.
He said that these early indications show that “there is a big section of Maltese society that believes in a beautiful future for Malta where meritocracy is rewarded.” Cassola described this future to also be one where “we can make Malta beautiful again” and stop the rampant construction “with cement and so on.”
The independent candidate told this newsroom that the only indications he personally has on the results are the “hundreds and thousands” of votes that he has seen that have given him the desired number “1” on the ballot sheet.
He also observed “a lot” of second-preference votes received, with many even coming from ballot sheets marking first preferences to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and some others, albeit less, he said, coming from similar votes that went to the Labour Party’s Alex Agius Saliba.
The former leader of Alternattiva Demokratika also stated that he does not know for how long he will remain in this positive-looking position, especially with his lack of access to the Electoral Commission’s constantly updated results.
Cassola thanked everybody who voted for him and said that, “even if not elected, it’s a wonderful experience.”