Poor showing for Omar Rababah after torrent of racist abuse
'The most important thing for me was victory for the party'
The first-time Labour Party candidate Omar Rababah has failed to get elected on the two districts he contested.
Rababah’s nomination had sparked a torrent of racist abuse across social media, with some spreading Islamophobic conspiracy theories of a Muslim agenda to take over Malta.
He contested the election on the sixth and seventh districts, getting 151 votes on the former and 152 on the latter.
Rababah has not commented on his personal result yet. In a Facebook post at the end of voting on Saturday, he said that the most important thing for him was victory for the party. Throughout the campaign he had waved the party flag, he said, and he would continue doing so. He expressed appreciation for being given the opportunity to be part of the democratic process and the history of the country.
Born in Malta to a Syrian father and Maltese mother, Rababah said during the election campaign that he stood “for everything that is Maltese and will defend everything that is Maltese”.
Over the years, the social worker has made a name for himself as a vocal activist for human rights and social justice.
He had been encouraged to contest the election by Robert Abela himself, who defended the decision, saying Rababah is “Maltese born and bred”.
“Omar is Maltese. He was born in Malta, in our hospital, in 1991. He lives in Malta. His children are baptised as Catholics. He’s a member of the Youth Advisory Forum. That’s Omar,” Abela said.
Rababah called for cool heads during the final week of the campaign after a tyre on his sister's car was slashed as she picked up her son from school.
"Politics should never descend to this level. You are terrifying my family, when they have nothing to do with this," he said.