Updated 9.10pm

Labour retained control of the Valletta local council but the Nationalist Party flipped St Paul’s Bay, on the first day of vote counting in the 2024 local council elections.

With roughly one-third of all local council elections concluded, Labour appears comfortably in the lead, capturing one-third more votes than the PN and securing a majority in 14 out of the 23 localities at play during Wednesday’s count.

But there were significant gains for the Nationalist Party, which apart from winning St Paul’s Bay added a seat in the Dingli, Qrendi, Birzebbuga, Fontana, Xewkija and Żurrieq local councils, while coming within just seven votes of flipping Pembroke. 

The PN said that they had halved the vote deficit in the councils determined on Wednesday (from 20,055 in 2019 to 11,757 now) and slashed the gap in seats from 28 to 13, when factoring in independent candidates.

A Labour source noted that the gap between the two parties in these elections so far stands at 14%.

Labour breathed a sigh of relief at having kept hold of Valletta, flipping Għasri and avoiding routs in Mellieħa and Żebbuġ (Malta), where strong performances by independent candidates left councils in the balance. 

It was a good night for ADPD leader Sandra Gauci, who secured a seat in St Paul’s Bay, and a thumping return to politics for former PN minister Censu Galea, who trounced all other candidates in that town to drive the PN to victory.

Valletta will get a new mayor in Olaf McKay, who beat the incumbent Alfred Zammit by 32 votes. In Qrendi, 16-year-old Nina Briffa will serve as a PN councillor.

In Mellieħa, the two big parties elected four candidates apiece, leaving independent candidate Matthew Borg Cuschieri as kingmaker.

And over in Gozo, 19-year-old Serena Refalo – the daughter of Labour minister Anton – stormed to the Xewkija mayorship.

Arguably the best story of the night, however, belonged to the Zammit Lupi family in Żebbuġ.

Steve Zammit Lupi, who served as an independent councillor in the previous term, was the most popular candidate in the town’s election this time round and could well end up serving as its mayor.

His popularity rubbed off on his mother, Lillibeth Zammit Lupi, who ran for a council seat for the first time. She, too, was elected, meaning Żebbuġ’s council will have four Labour councillors, three PN ones and two independents who are mother and son.

Labour saw a sharp narrowing of its majority in the European Parliament elections, held on Saturday together with the local elections, which left people wondering whether the councils could hand Labour its first electoral defeat in 20 years.

The counting process in 67 localities – 53 in Malta and 14 in Gozo – has been divided into three groups, contunuing on Thursday and Friday. A total of 471 councillors will be elected.

There was no election in Mdina as only five candidates applied to contest the election, the same number of councillors needed. There are four PN candidates against the Labour Party’s one.

The PN suffered its worst-ever results in the last round of local council elections in 2019 when Labour won 47,000 more votes. The PN had also lost localities that had traditionally voted blue, such as Siġġiewi and Valletta.

The PN won Valletta in 2013, 2008, 2002 and 1999 but narrowly lost it in the last election.

Siġġiewi has a similar history. Five years ago, the PL won by a whisker and only had 70 more votes than the PN. That victory was Labour’s first in Siġġiewi but tables might change this year when the votes are counted tomorrow.

There was controversy during the run-up to the election when 99 people changed the address on their ID card to a new government housing block in the locality even though they had not yet moved in. The case went to court, which ordered those involved to vote in their original place of residence.

Other hotly-contested councils include Mosta and San Ġwann. All were PN-controlled in the past but were more recently run by Labour administrations. That could change once more by the end of the week.

San Ġwann will be determined on Thursday while Mosta will be decided on Friday. The town’s mayor, Chris Grech, is trying to hold on to his seat after coming under considerable fire following a decision to cut down mature trees near the rotunda church in November.

Labour strongholds like Paola, Żejtun and the three Cottonera cities have almost certainly voted overwhelmingly red. However, PN leader Bernard Grech said his party aims to gain more votes and, possibly, a council seat in these localities.

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Live blog

Live blog ends

8.44pm The counting hall is empty. You could hear a ballot paper drop. The election is now on pause, to be resumed tomorrow. And so too is this live blog: we're ending it here, though check back soon - we'll have a summary of the day's key events available at the top of this article very soon. 

Thank you for having joined us. 

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Day 1: Labour comfortably in the lead

8.34pm Day 1 of vote counting in these local council elections is done, and the outcome in 23 localities has been settled. Two more days remain - there will be further counting tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday. 

So far, Labour is comfortably in the lead in the overall vote, with virtually twice as many votes going its way versus the PN. It's a similar story in percentage terms, with the vote falling 59% Labour to PN's 33%. 

However, there's still a lot at play, including some major battlegrounds like Birkirkara and San Ġwann (tomorrow), Mosta and Siġġiewi (Friday). 

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Both PL and PN lost votes in Valletta

8.31pm The PN's hopes of flipping Valletta appear to have been built on thin air: the party got 370 votes fewer than it obtained there in 2019, when the council swung Labour's way. 

Not that Labour has much to celebrate: it also lost votes when compared to 2019, albeit 78 of them.

Olaf McKay beat Alfred Zammit to mayor by just 32 votes. 

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PN lost Pembroke by just 7 votes

8.28pm Proof that a single family can swing it: Labour retained its majority in Pembroke by just seven votes. It's a bitter pill to swallow for the PN, especially given turnout was just 57% (similar to the national average for council elections). 

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Santa Venera remains Labour 

8.19pm Santa Venera remains Labour, but only just. It’s 4-3 in the party’s favour, with Gianluca Falzon to be its mayor. 

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PN retains St Julian's

8.15pm St Julian’s remains firmly PN, with a 6-3 majority. Guido Dalli will remain its mayor.

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PN retains Iklin 

8.13pm The PN has retained Iklin and Dorian Sciberras remains mayor, but Labour has a new minority leader in Mario Fenech. 

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16-year-old elected in Qrendi

8.10pm Nina Briffa, 16, has been elected in Qrendi on the PN ticket. She was one of the youngest candidates to be running in these elections. 

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Ta' Xbiex remains Labour 

8.02pm Here's one we missed earlier: Ta' Xbiex will remain Labour-led, with Max Zammit as its mayor. 

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Mother and son elected in Żebbuġ (Malta) 

7.55pm Żebbuġ independent councillor Steve Zammit Lupi has been reelected, and he says it looks like he will be the town’s new mayor. He says residents have prioritised the town over partisan politics. 

Zammit Lupi’s mother, Lillibeth, was also contesting, and she has also been elected. It looks like she’s taken a seat that was previously Labour’s.

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Fontana's new mayor: 'I'm stunned'

7.44pm We caught up with PN's Thomas Mizzi, who told us he's stunned to discover he will be Fontana's new mayor. 

Aged 24, Mizzi will be one of Malta's youngest mayors. He takes over from Saviour Borg, who ran Fontana's council for 20 years but exited council politics under a veil of controversy. 

Mizzi has pledged to start working "from tomorrow" to take the Gozitan village forward.

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Mellieħa gets a kingmaker

7.41pm Labour has lost its majority in Mellieħa, but the PN has not benefitted. Unlike general elections (where it’s votes that count), in council elections, it’s all down to the seats a party secures. And the PN did not get enough votes to elect another seat in Mellieħa, because many votes went to independent candidate Matthew Borg Cuschieri, who will be elected. 

That means the council will be split 4-4-1. 

We don’t yet know who will be Mellieħa mayor.

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PN adds a seat in four minority councils 

7.37pm PN councillors will remain in a minority in Dingli, Xewkija, Żurrieq and Qrendi, but sources tell us the party has taken a seat off the majority Labour council in each of those localities. 

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Labour wins Tarxien

7.31pm Labour wins Tarxien, as it was expected to do. No surprise there. 

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Xewkija's new 19-year-old mayor

7.30pm Aged just 19, Simona Refalo might end up being Malta's youngest mayor once this election's dust settles. We caught up with the new Xewkija mayor for a quick comment.  She told us she never expected to win as many votes as she has. 

"Xewkija needed some new young blood," she said. 

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Labour wins Birżebbuġa and Żejtun

7.28pm Two foregone conclusions for Labour: they have held onto their majorities in both Birżebbuġa and Żejtun. There's a new mayor in Żejtun, though - Joan Agius.

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 PN flips St Paul's Bay

7.24pm Big news for the PN: they’ve flipped St Paul’s Bay.

And it looks like they’ve done it on the back of a commanding performance by former PN minister Censu Galea, who dusted off his political mitts to give local politics a go. Chants for Galea and applause fill the counting hall. 

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Labour keeps Marsa

7.16pm Good, albeit expected, news for Labour in Marsa: the party will continue to lead the local council there. 

Marsa residents will be getting to know a new mayor, though: 24-year-old Luke Farrugia has secured the most votes. 

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An independent threatens Mellieħa's duopoly

7.08pm Back to Mellieħa, where Labour edged it by just 77 votes in 2019. 

The PN is hoping to reclaim a majority there, but there’s a fly in its proverbial, and his name is Matthew Borg Cuschieri. 

Borg Cuschieri, an independent candidate, appears to be doing well and is poised to get a seat. And that means there’s a good chance that both Labour and the PN will end up with 4 seats each, with Borg Cuschieri the kingmaker. 

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Confirmed: Labour holds Valletta

7.01pm It's now confirmed: Labour has held onto its majority in Valletta. But the capital city will have a new mayor: Olaf McKay has beaten Alfred Zammit to the post. 

Valletta residents have made it clear in the past years they're unhappy with loud music, restaurant tables and chairs taking over streets and litter filling street corners. But despite those complaints, the incumbent party will keep control of the local council. 

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PN could take Mellieħa from Labour 

6.56pm Many PN delegates – among them MPs Adrian Delia, David Agius and Robert Cutajar - have gathered behind the perspex at table 8, where votes for Mellieħa are being counted.

The word in the counting hall is that they might flip the council, winning it with a slight majority. 

It would be a significant win for the party, after the disappointment of falling short in Pembroke and most probably Valletta. Like those two councils, Mellieħa was one of a number of swing localities the party was targeting this election. 

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PN grows its majority Balzan 

6.51pm The PN has secured a majority in Balzan, one of its traditional strongholds. There’s some good news for it there – it looks like it has widened its gap from 3-2 to 4-1. 

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Labour holds onto Pembroke 

6.46pm A significant setback for the PN: Pembroke will remain a Labour-led council.

The Nationalist Party was hoping to capitalise on disquiet within the council – its outgoing mayor complained he was little more than a “village policeman” and its deputy mayor ended up in court – to swing the locality its way. 

But it looks like the party fell short, as Labour has held onto the council. Kaylon Zammit will serve as the town’s new mayor. 

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Labour wins Żurrieq

6.40pm Labour has secured its majority in Żurrieq, with incumbent mayor Rita Grima reelected by "a large margin", sources tell us. No surprises there. 

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PN narrows gap in Xewkija

6.38pm Labour might be celebrating a majority in Xewkija, but there's a caveat: it looks like the party has lost a good chunk of votes in the Gozitan town, which is traditionally a Labour stronghold. 

We're told the council, which went 4-1 Labour's way in 2019, is now likely to end up with a 3-2 split. 

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ADPD's Sandra Gauci elected in St Paul's Bay

6.35pm Some good news for the Greens: ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci will get a seat in the St Paul's Bay local council. The party confirms as much on its Instagram page.

St Paul's Bay - Malta's largest locality by population - is a key battleground in these council elections and was one of seven localities where ADPD fielded a candidate. 

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Xewkija council to be led by minister's daughter

6.33pm Labour has held onto its majority in Xewkija, and the election could be the start of a new political dynasty: the mayor will be Simona Refalo, daughter of Labour minister Anton Refalo.

The Refalos made headlines during the campaign following reports that they had shifted their address to Xewkija to boost the newcomer’s electoral prospects. 

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Labour holds Dingli

6.26pm No change in Dingli, where Labour has secured a majority. And it's a good night for mayor Raymond Schembri, who will be re-elected. 

An emotional Schembri, who is at the counting hall, pledges continuation of the past five years. 

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Qrendi and Mqabba mayors confirmed

6.24pm Some minutes ago, we reported that Qrendi and Mqabba had remained red. Now we can confirm that their respective mayors, David Michael Schembri and Grace Marie Zerafa will also keep their posts. 

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PN wins Għajnsielem

6.19pm The PN has secured a majority in Għajnsielem, as it was expected to do. And it looks like incumbent mayor Kevin Cauchi is heading for another term. 

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Labour wins Mqabba, Qrendi

6.15pm Two more wins for Labour: Mqabba and Qrendi. It has secured majorities in both those councils. 

Mqabba was a hot locality for Labour after rumblings of discontent about a tarmac plant being planned there. Robert Abela then stepped in and said he was against that. Weeks later, the applicants dropped the plan. 

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Sources: Labour has secured Valletta

6pm It looks like Labour has managed to hold on to its majority in Valletta, the capital city. PN delegates insist it's still in the balance, but multiple sources say it's clear PL has edged it. 

"It looks like we have quite a clear majority, barring any miracles," a well-placed Labour source told us.  

Even those sources say, however, that it's still to be seen whether mayor Alfred Zammit will retain that post. 

Either way, it's a big win for Labour.  Valletta has historically served as a bellwether locality, with trends there reflecting the national outcome of local council elections. 

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Snapshots from the counting hall

5.34pm The vote counting process is well under way but there's still a long way to go - we've got three (unofficial) results out of 23 localities. 

Here are some images from the Naxxar counting hall. Swipe right to see more photos. 

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PN wins Nadur

5.24pm Another Gozo win for the PN - it has secured a majority in Nadur. 

That is not surprising, given its historic dominance in the village.

Nadur, keep in mind, is the stronghold of former PN ministers Giovanna Debono and Chris Said.

Said's brother, Edward, has been Nadur mayor for the past nine years. And PN sources tell us Debono worked to help the PN reach disgruntled voters in the locality. 

What will be worth keeping an eye on is the gap between the two parties, but it's too early to know whether that has widened or narrowed.

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PN captures Fontana

5.02pm Tit for tat. 

The Nationalist Party has secured Fontana, sources tell us. It also won the Gozitan village council in 2019. 

Fontana's council also made the news in the run-up to the election over conflicting claims about the political fate of its long-time mayor Saviour Borg. 

The PN said Borg had refused to recontest the election; Borg claimed he was never asked. 

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Labour wins Għasri for first time

4.25pm The first results are in, and they're a small piece of Gozitan political history. 

Labour has won a majority in Għasri for the first time in its history. 

Reminder: in 2022, Għasri mayor Daniel Attard [no relation to the MEP] resigned from the Nationalist Party, one day after he publicly met with Robert Abela. Attard contested this election on the Labour ticket.

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Ministers at counting hall

4.20pm Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri - a former mayor of Qala - and Culture Minister Owen Bonnici, who served as deputy mayor of Marsascala before entering national politics, were both spotted at the counting hall, helping Labour delegates. 

Vote sorting, which was originally scheduled to begin at 2pm, was delayed and only began at 4pm.