When Steve Zammit Lupi was first elected to the Żebbuġ (Malta) local council in 2019, he was overwhelmed by the 947 first-count votes he received. 

On Wednesday, he more than doubled that tally as he stormed to the top of the rankings in Żebbuġ's 2024 local council election. 

The independent candidate will now need to form a coalition with either Labour or Nationalist blocs within the town's council. But he will have a valuable and loyal ally at the council table - his own mother. 

Zammit Lupi's popularity - he obtained 2,342 first count votes - rubbed off on his mother Lillibeth, who also ran for a council seat as an independent.

She received 98 first-count votes but secured a seat as a councillor thanks to the 1,045 votes she inherited from her son. 

"I stand with Steve and am very proud of him," Lillibeth Zammit Lupi told Times of Malta after the result. 

"Yes, he's now my boss," she acknowledged. "But at home I'm still in charge." 

Steve Zammit Lupi said the result had left him speechless.

"I have no words," Steve Zammit Lupi said. "I will need to negotiate with the other two sides, to find a way forward. But every decision I will take will be for Żebbuġ's benefit," he said.

Zammit Lupi made environmental and sustainable initiatives a key cornerstone of his first term as councillor, championing cycling initiatives, car-free days, tree planting and litter cleaning in the town. 

That resonated with Żebbuġ residents, who spurned candidates from the traditional big parties and instead cast their votes his way. 

Although Zammit Lupi dominated voting in the town's election, he is not assured of the mayorship: under Malta's local council rules, he (and Lillibeth Zammit Lupi) will need to form a coalition with the Nationalist Party (which won three seats) or get the backing of Labour (which won four) to lead the council as its mayor.