Young candidates on the parties' lists

The youngest candidate in Saturday's election is 20-year-old student Nadine Sciberras of Qrendi, who is contesting the fifth district for the Nationalist Party.

Nadine's involvement in politics started when she was 15 years and she became a member of the party's section committee.

As she grew older, she felt she had to do something more to contribute to the country more effectively.

Nadine, a university student of English, said that although politics in Malta carried a bad stigma, one could use politics positively to help a lot of people.

When she decided to contest, Nadine initially shocked her parents with her decision but they soon came to accept it and gave their daughter all the support and encouragement she could wish for.

She has based her personal campaign on meeting people and being close to them.

"A lot of people, especially in my district, want politicians to listen to them. I tried my best to help. On the whole it has been a very positive experience," she said.

Asked whether people had taught her anything, Nadine replied "most definitely".

"They have shown me that politicians have to be very sensitive to people.

"People are not just numbers or votes. They have feelings and emotions and they have to be taken into consideration."

Alternattiva Demokratika candidate Jurgen Balzan, who works as an administrative secretary with a publishing house, is, at 21, slightly older. He is contesting the sixth and ninth districts.

Contesting the general election for the first time, AD's deputy general secretary, Jurgen, who lives in San Gwann, is also active in AD Zaghzagh, its youth branch.

Before joining AD, he had held different posts within the group Graffitti, including those of deputy general secretary and coordinator of the movement's Junior College and University sections.

The youngest Labour candidate is 22-year-old notary Owen Bonnici. Owen, who is contesting the third district is a graduate in legal and European studies.

He has worked within Zejtun council and several university organisations, and has made journalistic contributions to several news media, including the internet, newspapers, radio and television.

Owen is also a translator of several novels which have been published periodically.

He is one of 13 Labour candidates who are aged under 30. The number of candidates aged under 30 within Labour make up 17 per cent of the party's candidates.

More than half of AD's candidates, 60 per cent, are aged under 30, while seven per cent of PN's candidates are in the same age bracket.

Besides Nadine, the other Nationalist candidates under 30 are lawyer Duncan Borg Myatt on the fourth district; IT programmer Eman Camilleri and lawyer Franco Debono on the fifth district; architect Robert Musumeci on the seventh district; and architect Joseph Falzon on the ninth district.

Other Labour candidates under 30 are lawyer Luciano Busuttil, who is contesting the first district; architect Edric Micallef, on the second and fifth districts; occupational therapist Joseph Abela and Jesmar Baldacchino, self-employed, on the third district;

On the fourth district there is desktop operator Stefan Zahra; and on the fifth, civil servant Ancel Farrugia Migneco. Another civil servant, Roderick Galdes, is contesting the sixth district; and lawyer Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, the 10th and 12th districts.

Teacher Charles Azzopardi is on the MLP's list of the 11th district; student Keith Grech and legal procurator Lorna Vassallo are contesting the 12th and lawyer Justyne Caruana, the 13th districts.

As for AD, its other candidates under 30 are teacher and publishing house director Mark Vella, who is contesting the first and fifth districts, and senior principal and musician Michael Briguglio, on the first and seventh districts.

There are also chemistry and physics teacher Mark Scerri on the second district, and Malta Today deputy editor Kurt Sansone on the second and third districts.

Student and civil servant Ian Meli is contesting the second and 13th districts; industrial chemist Ralph Cassar, the fifth and seventh districts; research officer James Debono, the sixth and 11th districts; and student Silvan Agius, the 12th district.