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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 FEBRUARY 2024
SURVEY
JAMES
DEBONO
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
Labour leads PN by 15,000
votes in MEP election race
MALTATODAY'S first survey
of 2024 on voting intentions for
next June's MEP elections, puts
Labour solidly in pole position
with a seven-point lead over the
Nationalist Party.
This translates into a
15,422-vote advantage for the PL
over the PN on the back of a sig-
nificantly low turnout of 62.5%.
The survey, the first for 2024
that is asking people how they
would vote in the European
election, sees support for the
PL stand at 48%. The PN trails
at 41%, while third parties col-
lectively are expected to poll
11%.
However, a staggering 37.5% of
respondents declared their in-
tention of skipping this electoral
appointment.
If this is confirmed on election
day, it would represent the lowest
turnout ever in an MEP election
and a 10-point drop in turnout
from the 2019 election.
Moreover, an absolute majority
of 16 to 35 year olds (50%) and
49% of those aged between 36
and 50 will not be voting.
Although the survey cannot be
compared to previous ones ask-
ing voters who they would vote if
a general election is held now, the
survey confirms earlier trends,
particularly a high abstention
rate among Labour voters.
But while surveys asking voters
how they will vote in a general
election showed 25% to 29% of
Labour voters intent on abstain-
ing, this percentage grows to a
whopping 34% for the EP elec-
tion.
Yet despite the lower turnout
among Labour voters the party
is still poised to win with a com-
fortable seven-point margin. This
is significantly lower than in 2019
when Labour vanquished the PN
by a 16.4-point lead and a margin
of 42,656 votes.
MaltaToday survey shows the PL will
get 48% of the vote in June's European
election, while the PN will trail at 41%.
Third parties collectively could clinch
11%. Survey predicts a low turnout of
62.5% down from 73% in the 2019 EP
election.
