VALLETTA – Malta’s Labour party claimed its third consecutive victory at the general elections Saturday, which had a record low turnout for the island, political sources said.

 The provisional results saw 55.9 percent of the vote go to Labour, and 41.7 percent to the Nationalist Party, while the minor parties had the remaining 2.4 percent.  The official results were due to be published Monday. 

 In a TV interview,  the premier Robert Abela spoke of a clear majority in favour of his party, while nationalist leader Bernard Grech congratulated him and admitted defeat.

The turnout on Saturday was 85.5 percent and despite being a very high figure compared to the European average, it was the lowest figure in Malta since 1964, the year of independence.

 In the previous election, in 2017, 92.1 percent of those eligible had voted. This year, for the first time, Maltese citizens aged 16 to 18 also went to the polls.

 Labour has led the government since 2013, initially under the leadership of Joseph Muscat, who was replaced by Abela in January 2020. Muscat resigned because of a corruption scandal and the controversy that broke out in relation to the investigation into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

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