Consisting of Birkirkara, Malta’s largest locality, as well as Fleur-de-Lys, part of Swatar, Iklin, Lija and Balzan, the eighth electoral district has traditionally been a Nationalist Party stronghold.
With 28 candidates, this district is the one with most election candidates.
In the 2017 general election, the PN secured 12,591 votes, 52.8 per cent, while Labour bagged 10,830 or 45.4 per cent of votes.
A small number of votes went to Alternattiva Demokratika (267) and an even smaller number (117) went to Moviment Patrijotti Maltin.
The PN ended up electing three candidates from the eighth district – with Beppe Fenech Adami securing his seat in parliament on the very first count, after getting almost 6,500 first preferences.
The PN also saw David Agius and Therese Comodini Cachia elected from this district. The latter will not be contesting this time round.
On the Labour front, the two candidates originally elected in the 2017 general election – Chris Cardona and Edward Scicluna – have both retired from politics, with the latter being given a position as Central Bank Governor.
Casual elections saw the seats being taken by Edward Zammit Lewis and Ian Castaldi Paris.
Castaldi Paris will not contest this election after a tax investigation showed he holds undeclared wealth.
His decision came just hours after Times of Malta exposed how the backbench MP agreed to pay some €300,000 in taxes and penalties after a probe into his fiscal affairs found close to €1 million in previously undeclared income.
What to look out for
From the list of candidates on the PN ticket, the eighth district certainly has incumbents in Fenech Adami, who is still carrying the legacy of his father, Eddie, former prime minister and president who led the Nationalist Party to successive electoral victories from 1987 to 2004.
Agius, who is the party’s deputy leader, is also expected to make a good showing but will face stiff competition from former party leader Adrian Delia, who took over from Simon Busuttil in 2017 and was later defeated in a leadership contest in October 2020 by Bernard Grech.
This is the first time Delia is contesting a general election.
Other potential candidates vying for a seat from District 8 include Iklin Mayor Dorian Sciberras, Balzan Mayor Angelo Micallef and newcomer Julie Zahra who PN insiders say is being pushed by the party machine.
On the Labour Party side, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana will be contesting this district in his first-ever showing in a general election.
Other names that stand out include Housing Minister Roderick Galdes, Justice Minister Zammit Lewis, and Citizenship Parliamentary Secretary Alex Muscat.
Also on the party list are newcomers Cressida Galea and Chris Bonett.
What are the main issues?
The most pressing concerns for the constituents of District 8 is the problem of parking and the general state of the environment, according to surveys.
Residents are also concerned about the huge volume of traffic which flows through their localities as well as several building projects currently under way.
The candidates
Labour Party
Edward Zammit Lewis
Clyde Caruana
Herbert Conti
Oliver Nicholas De Gaetano
Clayton Bartolo
Christian Paul Bonett
Roderick Galdes
Fiona Borg
Cressida Galea
Alexander Muscat
Felix Busuttil Galea
Nationalist Party
Dorian Sciberras
Beppe Fenech Adami
Adrian Delia
Josianne Cardona Gatt
Michael Asciak
David Pace Ross
Angelo Micallef
Julie Zahra
Alexander Perici Calascione
Justin Schembri
David Agius
ABBA
Simon Elmer
Rebecca Rose-Marie Carmen Paris
ADPD
Mario Mallia
Mark Anthony Zerafa
Partit Popolari
Francis Mallia
Volt Malta
Alexia De Bono