Labor wins Malta elections, preliminary results show | Election News

The Labor Party secures a fourth term in Malta amid national and economic challenges.

Malta’s Labor Party (PL) has won a fourth term in a victory for Prime Minister Robert Abela, according to polls.

Early results gave the decision to the PL, Naxxar counting hall officials said on Sunday, as fireworks were lit on the small Mediterranean island.

“This is a victory for the people based on the program we gave to the people,” Abela told reporters, saying the results showed his party had “won power”.

“Let’s keep the spirit of international unity and move forward as one country,” he said.

Journalists following the vote count said the PL won a parliamentary majority, although it appeared to be less than in 2022, when it took 55 percent of all votes. The election was held on Saturday and the turnout was 87.4 percent, slightly higher than the last general election in 2022.

Charles Bonello, secretary general of the opposition Nationalist Party (PN), admitted his comments to state broadcaster TVM, but said his party could still reduce Labour’s majority.

Abela, 48, called the election earlier this year, saying the government needed new powers to protect the small, foreign-rich island from national pressures.

Although Malta’s economy grew by 4 percent last year, there are concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could affect tourism due to the increase in the cost of aviation fuel and driving inflation.

Abela campaigned on PL’s financial record since 2013, promising stability in an uncertain time.

His main opponent was PN candidate Alex Borg, a 30-year-old lawyer and winner of the Mr World Malta competition.

Abela has led Malta since 2020, when his predecessor resigned after the political crisis over the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017, who exposed the country’s highest level of corruption.

According to the Council of Europe’s 2025 report, Malta is still far behind in the fight against corruption, but the issue was not a hot topic on the campaign trail.

Located off the coast of Sicily, Malta is the smallest and most populous country in the European Union, with about 550,000 people living in 316sq km (122sq miles).

The island has a rich economy based mainly on tourism, online gaming and financial services, and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the EU.