The tension was palpable at the Malta Football Association’s headquarters as association vice-president Carmelo Bartolo counted the votes for the two contestants for the post of MFA president.


As the votes swayed between the two rival candidates, the monotone call of ‘Darmanin Demajo’ and ‘Dr Mifsud’ were the only words that mattered as delegates and journalists feverishly ticked away on the counting sheet.
At one point, challenger Norman Darmanin Demajo, once the association’s treasurer before falling out with incumbent and long-standing president Joe Mifsud, found himself eight votes clear of Mifsud. Much akin to a fever-pitched general election, the contest peaked when both candidates reached 48 votes each until Mifsud’s clout won him the final three votes, much to the jubilation of his numerous supporters who erupted into a roar of jubilation once the 51-vote mark was passed.
The final result was 52 votes for Joe Mifsud and 49 votes for Norman Darmanin Demajo, a much closer shave than what Mifsud’s supporters were expecting. The crestfallen expressions on the faces of Darmanin Demajo’s supporters, especially San Gwann delegate Bjorn Vassallo, showed the extent of their disappointment.
Delegates who spoke to MaltaToday after the vote said that Darmanin Demajo had a much stronger showing amongst second and third division clubs, considered to be Mifsud’s territory.
In fact Mifsud was nominated by a number of clubs hailing from the lower divisions such as Qrendi FC (his hometown), Kirkop and Birzebbugia St Peters, apart from Naxxar Lions’ president Dr Joe Mifsud (no relation) who worked assiduously for the incumbent’s candidature.
However the vote weighting system is heavily skewed in favour of incumbents, who normally attempt to secure the crucial votes of the football associations, which each have seven votes.
With around 90 per cent of associations supporting Mifsud, it was clear that a majority of the football clubs had supported Darmanin Demajo’s candidacy.
The challenger stayed away from Ta’ Qali yesterday, stating he did not wish to provoke anyone by his presence during the election. His running mate, former national coach Pippo Psaila, also stayed away but after Mifsud’s election, his name remained on the ballot although he managed to garner just 26 votes.
The divide Mifsud’s re-election provoked was immediately apparent when both Bjorn Vassallo and St George’s FC delegate Michael Cutajar, both supporters of Darmanin Demajo, withdrew their candidature for vice-president.
Vassallo left the room looking disappointed, not even bothering to vote for the post of vice-president and treasurer elections.
However, Mifsud was far from triumphant as he emerged back into the hall to take the applause of his supporters, looking pale and drawn. It was the second time he had been contested in his 15-year tenure. Three years ago his re-election was somewhat easier, when he defeated former Valletta FC President Joe Caruana Curran by 57 votes to 41.
Yesterday’s result means Mifsud will be president for the forthcoming three years.

But his narrow victory has also raised legitimate doubts about his manner of operation, often the target of criticism from various clubs.
The surprise election of the unaligned Peter Fenech as vice-president, alongside Mifsud acolytes Carmelo Bartolo and Ludovico Micallef, whose posts were re-confirmed, could also serve as a challenge for the re-elected winner.
However, sources have observed that the current ‘winner takes all’ set-up at the MFA will make it much more difficult to challenge Mifsud’s authority, as Darmanin Demajo knows only so well after his clash seven years ago.