Prime Minister Robert Abela on Monday skirted journalists' questions on whether he expected PL to retain its four seats in the European Parliament.

Instead, he said voters could use Saturday’s elections to renew the government's strong political mandate. 

Labour currently has four of Malta’s six seats in the parliament, which is made up of 700 European MEPs.

Fielding questions from journalists on Monday he said "all elections start with a score of 0-0. This principle matters now more than ever and we need to work to convince people about the importance of their vote".

He said voting – as well as the choice not to vote – was a democratic right.

It was up to the electorate to “decide who they will trust to move this country forward”.

He reiterated his call on voters to trust candidates who believe in a peaceful Europe.

“This is an opportunity to renew the strong trust in the government made two years ago,” he said, referring to Labour's landslide victory during the 2022 general elections when it won by over 39,000 votes.

Asked if he feared this gap would narrow, he reiterated: “Saturday’s vote will be a vote of confidence in the government that will then be able to proceed with implementing the electoral manifesto with a strong mandate".

Malta will head to the polls on Saturday to elect its European Parliament and local council representatives.

A Times of Malta poll published on Sunday saw the PL registering a 10.4 per cent lead, which could translate to a 30,500 vote difference over the PN, depending on turnout.

The poll showed that the bulk of people who plan to stay away from the polling booths are in Labour-leaning regions.