Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545063
3 maltatoday | MONDAY • 25 MAY 2026 EDITORIAL "I'M sorry if we hurt you in the past, even though I wasn't there," Borg told a crowd gathered in Fgura yesterday morning. "But today we have a renewed team, full of energy. Rest assured, if the people give us their trust, I am not going into Castille to seek revenge against those who disagree with us. I am going into Castille to de- liver, to do good, so that Malta and Gozo move forward together." The remarks came days before the 30 May general election, at what Borg described as a turning point. He said the energy and hope he had witnessed throughout the campaign had personally carried him through it. "The courage you gave me was enough," he told supporters. "The hope I saw again in the eyes of the Maltese and Gozitan people, that is the clearest certificate of what this party represents." Borg spoke directly to two groups he said were watching closely: voters who no longer wanted to support Labour but felt afraid to switch, and longtime Nationalists who had stopped voting for PN after feeling hurt or let down by the party in the past. To both, his message was the same; the party standing before them was not the one they remembered. ELECTION 2026 MALTA goes to the polls on Saturday 30 May and by Monday morning it will have a prime minister being sworn in at the Presi- dent's Palace in Valletta. The prime minister will either be incum- bent Robert Abela or Alex Borg. They will then have to choose their Cabinet from the members we elect to parliament. Bar a situation where a third-party candi- date or candidates do get elected, which can possibly change the dynamics of governance, on Monday 1 June, Malta will officially have a Labour or Nationalist government. The composition of parliament and the for- mation of government will happen irrespec- tive of how many people would have voted. The above statements may be obvious; childish even. But they are statements of fact, which no abstention can alter. Not vot- ing allows others to determine the outcome of the election for you. It is only those who vote that get to determine, who will govern Malta for the next five years. We understand that many feel disenfran- chised because they feel that they vote for becomes irrelevant when more powerful, hidden forces always get their way. We understand that some may feel ag- grieved by a decision or lack of, that impact- ed their personal circumstances. We under- stand that some may be totally uninterested in politics and its machinations. We know there may be thousands of personal reasons why someone may opt not to vote. Not voting is a choice and we respect that. But we also understand that voting in a de- mocracy is a fundamental exercise that helps shape the country's present and future. It determines who gets to make laws in parlia- ment and not just who governs. This is not a minor thing. There have been instances where the actions of individual MPs have brought about meaningful change. Divorce and cancer patients' right to be forgot- ten were the result of individual MPs who pushed for legislation by convincing others to tag along. On Saturday there will be thousands who will decide to abstain. You may be one of these voters. But before making that deci- sion, we urge you to consider your options carefully. You can vote for political parties other than the one or ones you are irked off with. It would help bring about meaningful change, or if you prefer, teach the other side a lesson. And even if you cannot bring yourself to break with family voting tradition, you can still decide to vote tactically by choosing the best individual candidates within the same party and ignoring the rest. Not voting is not the best way of changing things. If you want things to be different, you have to vote for that to happen. So, on Saturday, irrespective what your po- litical affiliation or inclination is, the best way to influence things is to go out and vote. It is a right our forefathers and foremothers fought for—it should not be taken for grant- ed and neither dismissed as an inconven- ience. On 30 May, we urge you to vote. Not voting is not the best way to change things maltatoday MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: KURT SANSONE DEPUTY PRINT EDITOR: LAURA CALLEJA Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Not voting is a choice and we respect that. But we also understand that voting in a democracy is a fundamental exercise that helps shape the country's present and future Borg says sorry if we let you down in the past PN leader Alex Borg in Fgura yesterday morning MARIO Mallia on behalf of AD- PD the green party yesterday pre- sented the candidates for all the districts and the central slogan of its campaign - The common good. Speaking at a small garden in the heart of Birkirkara Mallia said that the garden served as a play- ing field for children. He talked of the political duty to think beyond narrow, short-term interests and protect the rights of future gener- ations. "Our country is only lent to us," he said. The common good – ADPD's central message A real voice of the citizen "THE Labour party and the Na- tionalista party treat democracy as a vote every five years and a silence in between. Malta has watched too many decisions taken without us, too many con- tracts signed without us, too many laws written for someone else's benefit." This was stated by Matthew Agius Momentum's candidate in the 2nd and 8th district. Agius said Momentum's three proposals give citizens a real voice in the rooms where de- cisions are taken, the power to propose new laws and not just react to bad ones, and a guar- anteed say before public money is committed to major projects. What we are proposing is a Bidla ta' Vera, he said.