Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545062
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 MAY 2026 ELECTION 2026 NEWS BONELLO BERNICE K a n d i d a t a g ħ a l l - E l e z z j o n i Ġ e n e r a l i f u q i t - T i e n i u r - R a b a ' D i s t r e t t . 7966 3145 Dejjem QRIB TIEGĦEK... Almost 60% of early voters cast their ballot by 2pm Saturday THE first votes of the 2026 gen- eral election were cast on Satur- day, a day reserved for voters who cannot vote on 30 May and those residing in elderly care homes. According to the Electoral Commission there were 16,402 voters eligible to cast their ballot on Saturday 23 May. Of these, 9,757 were voters who registered with the commission to be able to vote early because they will ei- ther be abroad or in hospital on 30 May. The rest of those eligible to vote early—6,645—were elderly peo- ple residing in care homes, in- cluding St Vincent de Paul, and prisoners. Voting opened at 7am and closed at 10pm. By 2pm, 9,722 voters, or 59.3%, had cast their ballot, according to the commis- sion. Voting took place at the Naxx- ar Counting Hall in Malta and the Government Experimental Farm in Xewkija in Gozo. Elder- ly people residing in care homes with a residential population of 50 or more could vote at the care home. When MaltaToday visited the Naxxar Counting Hall on Sat- urday morning it found a steady stream of early voters entering and exiting at brisk pace. Meanwhile, party leaders re- leased short videos on social me- dia, making their case with early voters. Prime Minister Robert Abela presented his party as a steady pair of hands amid international crises, while Opposition leader Alex Borg urged voters to think of the future of their country and family when entering the polling booths. There will be two other days of early voting before Saturday, during which assistant electoral commissioners and members of the disciplined forces who will be on duty on election day will be able to vote. Malta does not have overseas voting in embassies or postal bal- lots, which means that eligible voters who live abroad have to travel here to vote. KM Airlines, the national airline, offers dis- counted air fares but these are only available for voters who live in countries where the airline op- erates. Author Karl Schembri, who works in Kenya with an inter- national humanitarian organ- isation, filed a judicial protest, claiming he is being denied his constitutional right to vote be- cause Malta does not have postal voting. Schembri is a registered voter and satisfies all the consti- tutional requisites to vote. Election day proper is on Satur- day 30 May when polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm. To be able to vote, a person re- quires the voting document and nothing else. The election is being contest- ed by the Labour Party, which is seeking a fourth consecutive term in government, the Op- position Nationalist Party, AD- PD-The Green Party, Momen- tum and Aħwa Maltin. These five parties are fielding candidates in all districts. There are also two independent candidates and one candidate for Imperium Europa, each contest- ing two districts. The election result will be known on Sunday 31 May when votes start being counted at the Naxxar Counting Hall. KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt A ballot box being sealed by party agents in the 2022 general election. Early voting for the 2026 election took place on Saturday with 16,402 voters being eligible to cast their vote (Photo: DOI)