Voter indifference likely t lowest election turnout in

Malta has witnessed 12 elections since it became an independent nation in 1964.

It was only in the first of these, held in 1966, that fewer than 90% of the eligible voters cast their preference.

As from the subsequent election in 1971, it has happened every time that more than 90% exercised their right to vote.

As one can see from the table in this page, voter participation was even higher than 95% in five successive elections starting in 1987 and ending in 2003, an election which was held just after the European Union referendum, and which sanctioned the people’s vote in favour of membership.

According to the Electoral Commission website, the percentage then fell to 93.3% in 2008, dropped further to 93% in 2013 and dipped to 92.1% in the last election held in 2017. This was the second lowest voter turnout since Independence, after the initial 89.7% reached in 1966.

So much has happened in the last three years to lead one to think that it is most likely that the turnout of voters will be lower than it was in 2017 when Prime Minister Robert Abela decides to call an election. It is possible, perhaps likely, that the percentage will go below the 90% figure for the first time in more than half a century.

There are various reasons for this.

There is a general disillusionment about the current political class. The two major parties have passed through or are facing turmoil, for different reasons, and the small parties still do not inspire too much confidence. So it should not come as a surprise if a sizeable chunk of voters decides not to bother voting – which would be a message in itself, one that expresses disdain towards the current crop of politicians, whichever party they represent.

There could then be others who choose to voluntarily invalidate their vote. The number of invalid votes has been around 1% of the total votes cast in the last four elections but, again, this could see a rise given that some people would prefer to invalidate their vote rather than not vote at all. This would be because they fear some repercussions, considering that political parties get to know who voted and who did not.

But, judging by what has happened in previous elections, there will be people who will manifest their outright scorn at the whole spectrum of politicians by not voting. And, although there will be people who traditionally vote Labour among those who will choose not to visit the polling booth, the vast majority of the non-voters will come from the Nationalist side.

This has already been experienced in the 2019 MEP and local council elections, when many voters in traditional PN strongholds decided to abstain, with the result that the PN lost the majority in some councils and seats in others. It is probable, as things stand now, that something similar will happen in the general election, and this will greatly contribute to yet another record victory for the Labour Party.

The Labour Party

The Labour Party has not been free of scandals, which started before the last election but spilled onto the current one. So much so that it was only six months ago that it had to go through the process to elect a new leader (and prime minister) and just last week it elected its new deputy leader for party affairs.

Robert Abela and Daniel Micallef respectively replaced Joseph Muscat and Chris Cardona,

both of whom were forced to abandon their roles in the wake of developments in connection with the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Muscat resigned after his office was linked to the murder, while Cardona left after his name was mentioned in court proceedings related to the case.

Any other party in power would have lost support because of this, but with the current main opposition party in total disarray, the Labour Party remains strongly ahead according to recent surveys. Not even the kicking out of Konrad Mizzi from the parliamentary group has seem

There is a general disillusionment about the current political class. The two major parties have passed through or are facing turmoil, for different reasons, and the small parties still do not inspire too much confidence.