Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/318021
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 MAY 2014 4 News JURGEN BALZAN VOTER apathy for European elec- tions is no longer an exclusive reality on the continent – indifference has now reached our shores too. The significant number of uncol- lected voting documents shows that interest in European Parliament elections is on the wane in Malta too, with the number of uncollected votes in 2014 amounting to more than double the figure for the first election in 2004. This could well reflect the pedes- trian campaign presented by both parties, in which European issues hardly figured, making way for a mind-numbing rhetoric centered on national issues which have lit- tle or nothing to do with European politics. The Electoral Commission has con- firmed that 21,856 voting documents were not collected. The figure shows an increase of 5,994 uncollected doc- uments when compared to the 2009 European elections and 11,722 when compared to the 2004 elections. A total of 344,374 – including 7,880 EU citizens – were eligible to vote yesterday, with the number of uncol- lected documents amounting to 6.3% of the total eligible voters. In European elections, Malta is considered as one electoral district, meaning that the voting process is long-winded. The official first count result is expected to be out between 1am and 2am on the night between Sunday and Monday. However, it is expected that by 3pm, the political parties will have clear projections in hand and by then it would be safe to announce which party has won a ma- jority. At a European level, turnout has been falling steadily since the first elections in 1979, indicating growing voter apathy. The turnout has constantly fallen in every EU election since 1979. In 2009, the overall turnout was at 43%, down from 45.5% in 2004. Despite the decline in interest, Malta remains one of very few countries with a high voter turnout. In 2009, Malta registered the third highest turnout, with 78.8% of the electorate turning up at the polling stations. However, unlike Belgium and Lux- embourg, who topped the tables with a 90% turnout, voting is not compul- sory in Malta. Apart from the two Benelux coun- tries, voting is also compulsory in Greece and in Cyprus. Differences in voting systems do not end there. The voting age varies from country to country, with voters in Austria being allowed to vote from the age of 16. JURGEN BALZAN THE Nationalist Party has made winning a historic third seat in the European Parliament elections a matter of 'do or die'. For the past few weeks, PN leader Simon Busuttil and the rest of the party have downplayed their chanc- es of electing a third seat for the first time ever, repeatedly insisting that they would not take anything for granted and that "there are no guar- antees on electing a third MEP". Although past elections indicate that this appears to be a Herculean task, figures show that the PN stands a very good chance of securing a third seat. In the two previous elections, La- bour emerged victorious, earning three out of the five seats available. In the last round, Labour elected a sixth MEP after the Lisbon Treaty increased Malta's allocation of seats and Joseph Cuschieri, who came closest to getting elected after the five seats were allocated, took the last seat in 2011. The PN's decision to raise the stakes and place so much impor- tance on electing a third MEP might look risky and could possibly come back to haunt Busuttil, however numbers show that the likelihood of winning a third seat is actually not all that remote. Based on the 2009 European Par- liament election results, the PN has as good a chance of winning three seats as Labour has of retaining four seats. In the last round, the election result was worked out on five seats, while this year's election will be worked out on six. The election quota is reached by dividing the number of valid votes by the number of seats, plus one. Therefore, in 2009, the quota was set by dividing the total of valid votes (248,169) by the number of vacant seats, plus one (five seats plus one), resulting in a 41,362 quota. The difference between the two parties stood at 35,431, almost iden- tical to the majority Labour had in last year's general election. Subsequently, Labour elected three candidates to the PN's two, after La- bour earned 54.77% of the vote and the PN could only muster 40.49%. Labour obtained 135,917 votes, or 3.2 quotas, while the PN's 100,486 votes translated into 2.4 quotas (the two parties' respective tallies being divided by the quota). Applying a quota based on six seats rather than five to the 2009 result, Labour would obtain 3.83 quotas, while the PN would have 2.83 – meaning that both parties would have an identical chance of Voter lethargy hits Malta too Will the PN elect a third seat? On MaltaToday.com.mt today LIVE BLOG – keep yourself updated with the day's events PHOTOS – slideshows from voting day and from inside the Ta' Qali counting hall RESULTS – live feed of counts and results for each candidate SOCIAL BUZZ – what's hot and trending on social media, updated on our live blog INTERVIEWS – filmed interviews straight from the Ta' Qali counting hall