Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545285
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 JUNE 2026 ANALYSIS ELECTION 2026 1. 61,732: Voters who did not choose PN and PL 61,732 eligible voters abstained, invalidated their vote, or voted for third parties in last week's general election. Their number has declined by 7,508 since the 2022 election but remains 26,518 higher than in 2013, when on- ly 32,974 eligible voters did not vote for either the PL or the PN. Only 17% (10,869) of the 61,732 voters chose third parties. This suggests that abstaining remains the preferred way for voters to protest against the duopoly. Nonetheless, abstention can al- so reflect disengagement from politics. That said Malta's turn- out not only remains one of the highest in the European Union but has actually increased from 2022. The percentage of eligi- ble voters, who did not vote PN or PL rose from 5.9% in 2003 to around 10% in the 2008, 2013, and 2017 elections, peaking at 19.5% in the 2022 general elec- tion before slightly decreasing to 17.3% in 2026. This marks a slight reversal of the trend be- tween 2003 and 2022, which had consistently shown an increase in the share of voters not voting for the two major parties. 2. 44.4%: Eligible voters who voted PL While the PL won the election with an absolute majority of 51.8%, its share of all eligible vot- ers (includes even those who ab- stained) has now fallen to 44.4%, a small decrease of 1.4 percent- age points since 2022. This rep- resents a significant decline from the party's peak strength in 2013 and 2017, when it had the sup- port of over 50% of the total elec- torate. Moreover, in terms of the percentage of total voters, the PL today is slightly weaker than it was in 2003 and 2008, when, in a substantially higher turnout, the PL was the choice of 45% of eligible voters. This does not in any way erode Labour's demo- cratic legitimacy but stands as a reminder that governments in Malta as in other democratic countries rarely enjoy the sup- port of the majority of the pop- ulation. 3. 38.3%: Eligible voters who voted PN In this election, the PN has registered its largest percentage (44.7%) of votes cast since 2008, when the party had won the election with a relative majority of 49.3%. Moreover, the PN also saw its share of eligible voters (includes non-voters) increase from a record low of 34.7% in 2022 to 38.3% now. However, the party is still weak- er than it was in 2017, when it at- tracted 39.7% of all eligible voters compared to its present share of 38.3%. This means that, despite an increase in the percentage of votes cast, the PN remains below the level of support it enjoyed in 2013 and 2017 among the gener- al electorate. Paradoxically, this shows that despite halving the gap, in terms of popular support, the party is still weaker than it was under Lawrence Gonzi and Simon Busuttil. The only differ- ence is that Labour is also weak- er. 4. 12,523: PL's loss of votes since 2017 Since 2017, the Labour Party has seen its voting tally decline by 12,532. Since the 2022 elec- tion it lost 4,263 votes. These figures suggest an in- crease in the number of former Labour voters from 2013 and 2017, who abstained, even if this does not exclude other move- ments, including small shifts to and from other parties. 5. 13,490: PN's gains since 2022 Having received a total of 136,723 votes, the PN is now nu- merically stronger than it was in 2013 (132,426), 2017 (135,696), and 2022 (123,233). Compared to 2022, the number of PN vot- ers has increased by a whopping 13,490. This suggests that the PN has recovered a significant portion of voters it had lost to abstention in 2022. This recovery along with La- bour's losses to abstention prob- ably was the main contributor to the narrowing of the gap However, this does not exclude other movements, including small shifts to and from other parties. A numbers game: Five takeaways from the 2026 election In the aftermath of the election that saw the Labour Party win its fourth consecutive term, James Debono does some number crunching to assess the strength of the two main political parties over the past six elections