Turnout favours a Labour victory

Just over 93 per cent of the electorate cast their vote in yesterday’s general election, with observers last night suggesting the Labour Party would emerge victorious. A slight drop in voter turnout in Nationalist strongholds coupled with an increase in traditional Labour districts appear to reinforce opinion polls in the weeks preceding the election showing a strong PL lead, analysts said. This would mean Malta is likely to see its first change of government in 15 years. Vote sorting is expected to start around 11am today with preliminary results expected around noon, depending on the difference in margin. Polling stations in many parts of the island, particularly in the south, struggled to cope with the flurry of early voters. Delays of up to three hours were reported. Voting proceeded without incident, but the day was dominated by reports that police had questioned several party activists – including two Labour election candidates, and columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia – for defying the ‘reflection’ period. Under the General Elections Act, it is a criminal offence to make political comment during polling and the day before. Yesterday brought the curtain down on an eight-week...