Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1519882
9 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 1 MAY 2024 EWROPEJ NICOLE MEILAK nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt These articles are part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. This article reflects only the author's view. The action was co-financed by the European Union in the frame of the European Parliament's grant programme in the field of communication. The European Parliament was not involved in its preparation and is, in no case, responsible for or bound by the information or opinions expressed in the context of this action. In accordance with applicable law, the authors, interviewed people, publishers or programme broadcasters are solely responsible. The European Parliament can also not be held liable for direct or indirect damage that may result from the implementation of the action. day 8 June with an option for early voting a week before. Voters in each of the 27 member states will be electing a total of 720 MEPs. Malta is allotted six MEPs. EP seats per country for 2024 elections Total to be elected 720 96 Germany 81 France 76 Italy 61 Spain 53 Poland 33 Romania 31 Netherlands 22 Belgium 21 Greece 21 Czechia 21 Sweden 21 Portugal 21 Hungary 20 Austria 17 Bulgaria 15 Denmark 15 Finland 15 Slovakia 14 Ireland 12 Croatia 11 Lithuania 9 Slovenia 9 Latvia 7 Estonia 6 Cyprus 6 Luxembourg 6 Malta to 2024 Back with a bang: It started off as a last-minute idea in 2022, the day after Robert Abela announced a snap elec- tion. We needed a way to engage read- ers and provide a light-hearted review of the day's happenings. And every day during that campaign, we did just that through what we dubbed as the Elec- tion Playbook - a daily digest of what happened each day of the campaign. So, we're doing it again for what hopes to be a more interesting election season. We'll show you what the different par- ties and candidates are doing and say- ing, but we'll also make space for more light-hearted content. Either way, we will be delivering the news straight to you, with the same wit and flair as last time. Vitalisations: Labour's holding a mass meeting on Workers' Day. Joseph Mus- cat is being accused of wrongdoing. An election is happening in June. And no, it's not 2017. Things took an interesting turn yesterday when it was confirmed in court that the magisterial inquiry into the sale of three public hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare has been delivered to the Attorney General. No information on the outcome of the in- quiry has emerged, but Robert Abela has taken a hostile stance on the matter, accusing the magistrate of purposely choosing the start of the election cam- paign to conclude her inquiry. Could this become the defining issue of this election campaign? Make politics interesting again: Now for some actual election news. Submis- sions have closed for election candi- dates, meaning we now have a final list of people contesting the European and local council elections. The statistics, at least for the European ballot, show that we might be in a new age of Mal- tese politics. The number of candidates hailing from the Labour and Nationalist parties are at an all-time low this year, while the number of independent and third-party candidates are at an all-time high. Turnout is also expected to reach a record low. And could it be another 'protest vote' year? Nothing is off the ta- ble, and everyone has something to lose. For the first time in years, politics could get interesting again. Good for the goose, good for the gerrymander: Call the Ghostbusters! It seems that a social housing site in Siġġiewi has 99 'ghost voters' who have had their ID cards transferred to the ad- dress, despite the building not yet able to house people. Almost half of these voters currently live in Qormi, while 19 live in Siġġiewi and five in Luqa. Call it coincidence or call it fate (or electoral fraud?), but these three localities form part of the social housing minister's electoral district. Why is this signifi- cant? In 2019, the Labour Party won a majority of seats on the Siġġiewi local council for the first time in local elec- tion history, obtaining only 70 votes more than the Nationalist Party. Maybe they'll win the local council by 169 votes this time… What's happening today?: It's Work- ers' Day, so the Labour and Nationalist parties are holding mass meetings in Valletta and Mosta respectively. The Labour Party promises a mass meeting full of fun and spectacle. The Nation- alist Party is using the opportunity to launch its election campaign, with a speech from Roberta Metsola (and en- tertainment from Fabrizio Faniello and Mike Spiteri, among others…) The return of the Election Playbook, a daily digest of what's happening across Malta and Gozo during the 2024 election campaign Protecting your Vitals