NEWS | Monday, 08 June 2009

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MEP Election 2009 Minute by Minute

Saturday 6 June

15:00: 2pm electoral district turnouts: lowest in 12th district (Mellieha, Rabat) at 21%. Highest in 1st district (Valletta, Floriana) with 42%

15:45: PN supporter suffers light injuries in argument outside Zejtun polling station. Police make arrests

16:00: Injured PN electoral agent is Grezzju Bondin, allegedly attacked by Labour supporter Edwin Bartolo – witnesses

20:31: Labour condemns Zejtun aggression, ‘Bartolo not representing Labour in any way’ – PL spokesman

Sunday 7 June

00:04: Labour quotes “unofficial” turnout at 78%

00:54: Electoral Commission: official 2009 elections turnout 79%, lowest ever, down from 83% (2004 turnout)

10:50: Sorting of votes continues in earnest at the Naxxar counting centre as the 12:00 deadline for the counting of first-count votes approaches. NET TV anchor says that the most important thing in this election is not the nationwide percentage but the number of seats obtained.

12:03: 12pm target to start sorting of votes delays. Officials attribute the delay to a larger size ballot sheet, making the physical sorting of sheets slower.

12:30: Neither of the PN or PL candidates have yet arrived at the counting hall. AD leader and EP candidate Arnold Cassola and AN candidate Martin Seychell have been seen.

12:34: Shifts of counting agents to change soon. Party officials prepare for sorting process in the next minutes.

12:36: PN and PL counting agents take their place against perspex already, sorting has not yet started.

12:39: Tables set for sorting to commence. Party officials seen at counting hall.

12:42: Electoral commission officials handing out instructions to counting agents. Sorting a question of minutes

12:45: Candidates present at counting hall – Edward Demicoli (PN); Christian Zammit (PL); Arnold Cassola (AD); Martin Seychell (AN); Nazzareno Bonnici (Partit tal-Ajkla)

12:50: Sorting of Number One votes starts. Packs of 50 votes being handed down on tables.

12:51: PN frontrunner Simon Busuttil arrives at counting hall

12:54: PN and PL agents bang on perspex to draw the attention of Electoral Commission staff for the amount of votes handed down from each box at a time. According to rules, a pack of 50 votes from each box is to be handed down at a time. Elcom officials were handing down two packs at a time.

13:01: PN General Secretary Paul Borg Olivier arrives

13:06: PL candidates Louis Grech, Marlene Mizzi and Edward Scicluna arrive at counting hall

13:14: Disagreement on validity of votes triggers heated debate among PN and PL agents. Police called in to calm down the situation.

13:16: Party delegates input their first samples. An element of cross-vote from PN to PL noticed on table sorting Sliema votes.

13:19: “It is clear that four or five PL candidates will have very close results” – Steve Borg (PL candidate). Asked whether he considers himself to be one of these candidates, Borg said: “No, I never sought to be populist in the campaign. My intention was to give a different dimension to the environmental issue.

13:22: Simon Busuttil proves to be a favoured choice among many voters. With regard to PL candidates, it is too early to discern popularity as, at first glance, PL votes seem to be well-spread among candidates.

13:27: Joseph Cuschieri (PL) – “The support for me seems to be encouraging so far, especially when you see that there are indications of my support being comparable to Edward Scicluna’s”

13:31: “It is too early to have any indications” – PL President Stefan Zrinzo

13:33: AD Chairperson Arnold Cassola – “Support for AD seems to be weak (tidher fjakka)”

13:46: “From samples obtained, results for PL look very encouraging. Three of the seats are in for sure.” – PL source

13:50: PN candidate Rudolph Cini: “It is too early to tell. Whether I will be elected or not will very much depend on second preference votes”

13:52: PN registers loss on votes garnered from the 10th district when compared to 2004 EP elections

13:57: PN candidate Marthese Portelli ahead of Simon Busuttil from votes cast in Gozo

14:03: An overjoyed Marthese Portelli tells MaltaToday: “I must thank Gozitans for trusting me. I came on the list at very short notice, just two months ago – so the campaign was very short. I did not have much money either, so the campaign was mostly based on word of mouth.”

14:06: PL garners around 55% of 1st count votes – first samples show

14:11: PL leader Joseph Muscat announces absolute majority for PL. “We’ve delivered a message for the creation of a new movement and people responded to it. This new movement gathers all those who voted PL in the past and others who voted for PL the first time round. This is a very clear signal to Lawrence Gonzi. This result is a point of departure for the movement, and not a point of arrival”

14:13: Toni Abela, PL deputy leader – “Let’s celebrate with our feet on the ground. We have a comfortable majority, an absolute majority.”

14:18: First indications show that Norman Lowell is faring better than AD, AN candidates

14:27: First samples show that 10th Disctrict vote for PL jumped from 20% to 23-24%

14:28: PN Secretary General Paul Borg Olivier: “57% for PL, 40% for PN. We’ll give you details later.

14:44: AN candidate Malcolm Seychell: “We still have to make an analysis of what happened, although indications show that results will be comparable to what we achieved in the general elections. It is clear however that the bigger parties hijacked our issues to their benefit.”

14:45: A good number of votes from the 12th district were considered null as they all delivered the same wrongly spelt message on the ballot sheet. “No kacca no vote” (sic), the message reads (No hunting, no vote).

14:48: PL Secretary-General Jason Micallef confirms that his samples show a 54-55% majority for PL. “We have the right to show satisfaction and sport a smile today. To celebrate this result, we’re meeting after 19:00 opposite the PL headquarters but nobody has the right or the permission to organise anything else in villages or elsewhere. I appeal for calm and respectful celebrations.”

14:54: “PL 33,000-35,000 votes ahead of PN” – Jason Micallef

14:57: PL Leader Joseph Muscat decides to show up at Naxxar counting hall at a later stage, PL sources say.

15:06: PL MP Charles Mangion “It is certainly a satisfying result which shows how much the PL is close to families. The campaign that Joseph Muscat made revolved around those issues affecting families most. This is the result of such a campaign.”

15:12: Joseph Muscat may not show up at all at counting hall. “His official address will be delivered at party HQs at 19:00.” – PL

15:17: Percentages given by parties are based on “worst case scenario’s” – PN official

15:18: “I appeal to government for fair play” – PL Deputy Leader Tony Abela on One News. Announces Mass Rally at PL Headquarters in Hamrun.

15:19: Percentages: PL/PN officials, “probable 54% PL and 42% PN”

15:20: Joseph Muscat speaking via telephone with PBS/TVM: “The electorate has sent a clear message to government that it wants a change in political direction. Just a year after PN’s electoral victory, it seems that PN must start to take stock of the situation.”

15:25: Deputy Prime Minister and PN Deputy Leader Tonio Borg, “We admit that the electorate has sent us a clear message that we must analyse and understand. We are disappointed at the result. The result is a reality for us. We would be silly to ignore. Government has a programme to implement for five years and we will pursue it to the full.”

15:28: Deputy PM Tonio Borg: “Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will address a press conference at Dar Centrali PN at 18:00hrs.”
15:29: PN officials : “PN votes held, but abstentions hit PN hard nationwide. Party to retain two seats at the European Parliament.”

15:32: Deputy Prime Minister and PN Deputy leader Tonio Borg together with PN Secretary General Paul Borg Olivier are touring the counting hall.

15:44: AD sample shows 2.3% result in first count votes.

15:49: AD Chairperson Arnold Cassola: “The result looks very negative at this stage. It seems that we tried making a positive campaign to show what an AD MEP can do but we did not manage to convince people.”

15:52: Updated PL samples: PL 55%, PL 40%

16:04: PL bans carcades. A scroll on One TV instructs Labour supporters not to go out carcading. Earlier, PL General Secretary Jason Micallef said “Nobody has the right or permission to organise celebrations” other than the ones planned for 19:00 next to the party headquarters.

16:07: Marlene Mizzi: “I would rather not comment on my result at this early stage, we’ll wait until the last lap. But I am very happy with the PL’s achievement.”

16:08: The PL showing, at an estimated 55% is the highest result achieved by a party within the socialist grouping throughout current EP elections.

16:10: The highest five piles of first preference votes at the Naxxar counting hall are as follows, in descending order: Simon Busuttil (PN), Louis Grech (PL), Edward Scicluna (PL), Joseph Cuschieri (PL), Marlene Mizzi (PL).

16:53: Norman Lowell first preference votes stacks head-to-head with Cassola.

16:55: Although AN has not yet published a clear sample of first preference votes obtained, an AN official told a Today journalist that their impression is that the result will be lower than that of 2008 general elections.

17:22: PN frontrunner Simon Busuttil told a Net journalist that indications show that out of the first five seats elected for the EP, “two will be for PN and three for PL. It is important to analyse the situation carefully,” he said. Stacks of number one votes for Busuttil are significantly higher than those of other candidates. He thanked the Maltese and Gozitan people for showing trust in him.

17:50: PN candidate Alex Perici Calascione: “My analysis is the same as that given by Deputy PM Tonio Borg. It was a clear message by the electorate towards government. However, we must not rush to analyse the result because it merits a serious scrutiny of what work must be done. There are various issues to look into.”

17:55: PN candidate Alex Perici Calascione: “Government still has four years more to complete its mandate. The political programme will have to continue but also take into account the people’s needs.”

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