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Labour clinches 39,474 majority in third consecutive victory where low turnout punished PN
Labour wins third consecutive election with 162,707 votes (55.1%); PN garners 123,233 (41.7%), Others 9,308 (3.2%)
Last updated on 27 March 2022, 10:19pm
Matthew Vella
Matthew Vella
2 min read
Labour prime minister Robert Abela at the Labour HQ in Hamrun
Malta has elected a new administration, returning to power the Labour Party with Robert Abela as prime minister in an election that yielded a historically low turnout of 85.5%, down from 92% in 2017.
Labour clinched 55.1% of the popular vote, but with less votes than in 2017 at 162,707 owing to the low turnout. But that shyness at the polls punished the opposition Nationalist Party, who garnered 41.7% of the popular vote, 123,233 votes in total, leaving an unprecedented super-majority of 39,474 votes for Labour.
Voter turnout last dipped below 90% in 1966, when it stood at 89.7%.
Other parties, mainly the tiny green party ADPD, clinched a higher than usual vote. In total all non-elected parties garnered 9,308 (3.2%) votes.
The election produced clear surprises: MPs who backed a rebellion against former party leader Adrian Delia were not elected, namely Jason Azzopardi and Karol Aquilina, while Delia was elected on two districts.
Runners-up could still be elected in casual elections for seats vacated by MPs elected on two districts.
Incumbent Labour MPs Joe Mizzi, Glenn Bedingfield, and Rosianne Cutajar, as well as veteran foreign minister Evarist Bartolo, were not elected.
Election day on Saturday brought to an end a short 33-day campaign with well over 340,552 voters eligible to cast their votes.
Official turnout figures until 2pm showed that 44.8% of the electorate had voted, a decline of eight points over the 2017 election.
The campaign was fought mostly between the Labour Party, led by Prime Robert Abela, and the Nationalist Party, led by Opposition leader Bernard Grech.
Abela took over as PM after winning a party leadership battle with deputy prime minister Chris Fearne, after the disgraced exit of his predecessor, Joseph Muscat, in the wake of the arrest of magnate Yorgen Fenech.
Grech was himself the winner of a party leadership contest with predecessor Adrian Delia, who suffered a backbench rebellion in mid-2020. Delia, a backbench MP, is contesting on the eighth district
With 355,025 registered voters, a total of 14,473 voting documents remained uncollected – 4.1% of all eligible votes – almost double that of the 2.4% registered in 2017, and 2% in 2013.
Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...
5th district: PL 65.2%, PN 31.8%, Others 3%
Elected: Robert Abela, Bernard Grech, Miriam Dalli, Owen Bonnici, Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi
8th district: PL 44.4%, PN 52.2%, Others 3.4%
Elected: Clyde Caruana, Justin Schembri, Beppe Fenech Adami, Adrian Delia, Edward Zammit Lewis
5th district: PL 65.2%, PN 31.8%, Others 3%
Elected: Robert Abela, Bernard Grech, Miriam Dalli, Owen Bonnici, Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi
7th district: PL 55.5%, PN 41.4%, Others 3.1%
Elected: Ian Borg, Silvio Schembri, Julia Farrugia, Adrian Delia, Ryan Callus
8th District: PL 44.4%, PN 52.2%, Others 3.4%
Elected: Clyde Caruana, Justin Schembri, Beppe Fenech Adami, Adrian Delia, Edward Zammit Lewis
9th District: PL 40.6%, PN 55.9%, Others 3.4%
Elected: Clifton Grima, Joseph Giglio, Michael Falzon, Robert Arrigo, Ivan Bartolo
10th District: PL 37%, PN 58.6%, Others 4.3%
Elected: Joe Giglio, Robert Arrigo, Michael Falzon, Clifton Grima, Mark Anthony Sammut
11th District: 42.1%, PN 53.3%, Others 4.6
Elected: Bernard Grech, Miriam Dalli, Ivan Bartolo, David Agius , Alex Muscat
Labour would have reduced its vote count by 10,000 compared to 2017, and the PN by 15,000, which is why the 2017 majority has increased from 35,000 to 40,000…
Clearly, many former PN voters in 2017 who were undecided stayed at home.
There were 355,075 registered voters, with an 85.5 % turnout meaning approximately 303,000 voters. Over 50,000 voters did not cast their ballot.
Green party chairperson Carmel Cacopardo says that data available on 125,000 votes processed so far, ADPD could have won 4,500 to 5,000 votes - 1.3% of the national vote - almost double the 2,564 votes it received in the 2017 election and similar to what it had received in 2013, its highest ever showing.
Cacopardo said ADPD has had good showings on the ninth and 12th districts, where they fielded Mina Tolu and Mark Zerafa, and Luke Caruana and Sandra Gauci, respectively.
Cacopardo says the constitutional provisions of proportionality of seats when compared to votes should be amended so that the 5,000 votes received by ADPD translate into a seat in parliament. “They cannot be ignored,” Cacopardo said.
PN deputy leader for party affairs Robert Arrigo, who was nowhere to be seen in the counting hall today, is appealing to Roberta Metsola to help the PN (that is, when are you coming home to us Roberta?)
”This was the first time I’ve had Labour supporters telling me they’d consider voting for me,” he said.
(1) Mario De Marco, (2) and (3) Stephen Spiteri, (4) Mark Anthony Sammut, (5) and (11) Bernard Grech, (6) Jerome Caruana Cilia, (7) Adrian Delia, (8) Beppe Fenech Adami, (9) and (10) Joe Giglio and Robert Arrigo in both districts, (12) Ivan Castillo, and (13) Alex Borg.
Grech said he respected the people’s decision, but alleged that Labour had used corrupt practices to win the election. “I think the authorities should investigate. No country in the world has a prime minister who sends out cheques to the people a week before the election,” Grech said, referring to the distribution of COVID relief cheques and tax refunds in mid-March.”
Grech admitted that the PN had also suffered a protest vote of sorts, but added that the absence of 50,000 electors from the election signified “a clear detachment of the public from politics”.
“I will be the voice of all those who gave the party their trust, as well of those who did not participate in the election... I will keep on working to bring more people closer to the party, and I will include those people who have not been elected.”
Muscat was himself at the helm of the Labour Party at their last landslide victory in 2017. He stepped down in 2019 after his own chief of staff Keith Schembri stepped down. Schembri resigned when Yorgen Fenech was arrested on suspicion of having masterminded Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder.
Miriam Dalli said the result means the Labour Party must work even more in the next five years to address several issues. Silvio Schembri commented that people don't want negative politics - "This is evident when you see the campaigns of the Nationalist and Labour Party."
Michael Farrugia said the Labour Party will humbly implement its manifesto, while Clint Camilleri thanked voters and said that he thinks the people appreciated the party's work over the past legislature.
"I will stay on, to give my service. I will contest the leadership once again to propose an alternative government."
The Nationalist Party statute says that it must hold a leadership election after every election loss. It seems that Grech will contest this election - but who could the other contenders be?