Final turnout estimated at 87.4%, rising from 2022's record low

An estimated 87.4% of voters cast their ballot in Saturday’s general election, with turnout rebounding from the record low set in 2022.

Electoral Commission figures put the estimated turnout at 87.42%, including all those who took part in early voting sessions throughout the past week.

By the early hours of Sunday morning, both Labour and PN were also projecting similar turnout figures.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Electoral Commission said that 43% of eligible voters had cast their vote by 2pm, an early indication of the rise in turnout, compared to 2022.

According to the Electoral Commission, 311,949 votes were cast by the time polling stations closed at 10pm on Saturday night.

There were a total of 356,832 eligible voters in this year’s election, an increase of almost 2,000 over that held four years ago. Of those, 4.3%, or almost 15,500, did not collect their vote.

In 2022, just 85.6% of the electorate had voted, the lowest share since Malta’s independence. Voter turnout had frequently topped 95% throughout the following four decades, before starting a gradual dip in 2008.

However, it had plummeted sharply in 2022, dropping by almost seven percentage points since 2017.

This year’s turnout bucked the trend, marking a slight 1.8 percentage point rise from the figure four years ago, but nonetheless falls well short of most previous general elections held in Malta.

The last time voter turnout had increased from one election to the next was over two decades ago, with the 95.7% turnout registered in 2003 being marginally higher than that recorded five years earlier.

A Times of Malta pre-election poll carried out by Esprimi, had estimated a final turnout of just under 89%.

Estimated turnout by district

District 7, one of the country's bellwether districts, recorded the highest overall turnout, with 90% of voters casting their ballot.

Several traditionally Labour-leaning districts also registered high voter turnouts.

Some 89% of voters in district 2 cast their ballot, with a similar share voting in districts 4 and 5.

Gozo also recorded a high turnout, with 89% of Gozitans casting their vote.

On the other hand, in a repeat of the 2022 election, the lowest turnout was registered in district 12, where just 81% of voters cast their ballot.

Districts 9 and 10, both PN strongholds, also registered relatively low turnouts. 85% of voters in district 9 cast their ballot, with this figure dropping to 83% in district 10.

Where did turnout increase?

Turnout increased across all districts, with PN and Labour-leaning districts both experiencing similar rises.

The biggest bump was registered in district 8, where turnout rose by almost 2.3 percentage points.

Districts 7 and 5, both of which leaned Labour in 2022, also recorded increases of over two percentage points.

Meanwhile, districts 6 and 12 recorded the lowest increase compared to 2022, with a 1.4 percentage point rise.

Voter turnout in Gozo rose by a similar margin, increasing by just over 1.4 percentage points.

Count to start at 9am on Sunday

With all votes now cast, electoral agents will carry out the initial reconciliation process at polling booths across the country, before ballot boxes are taken to the Naxxar counting hall in preparation for Sunday’s count.

Votes will start being counted at 9am on Sunday morning, with initial indications of the result expected shortly afterwards.

In 2022, PL declared victory at 11am.