The people of Libya’s Mediterranean neighbourly republic of Malta,
Saturday goes to the polls in a general election that could bring to
power after almost 25 years of conservative rule by the Nationalist
party, a Labour government.
Opinion polls in the past few weeks have suggested a 12-lead for the Labour Party led by a youthful 39-year-old politician, Joseph Muscat who could become one of the country’s youngest-ever Prime Ministers.
The election in the smallest member of the European Union, EU, with a population of around 400,000, was called after the government collapsed in December when it lost its one-seat majority in Parliament and to get enough votes to pass its proposed budget bill for 2013 when a dissenting government member voting with the opposition.
In the past five-year legislature the Nationalist Party, led by Lawrence Gonzi, had a turbulent time. Three of its members rebelled and one even left the party to claim an independent seat in Parliament forcing the Prime Minister to govern the last few months in coalition with his former member.
It all came to a head in December, when despite repeated losing its Parliamentary majority, and appeals for it to resign, the government still went ahead with its decision to present its budget and put it to the vote, that it eventually lost, forcing the PM to call general election for March 9.
A nine-week electoral campaign followed with the Labour Party emerging as favourite and with its leader, Joseph Muscat, a former journalist, economist and former member of the European Parliament, using the slogan of Malta Belongs to Us All calling for a change in direction.
While the Nationalist Party has been calling for more of the same, the Labour Party leader has proposed a number of important pledges, mainly to reduce Malta's electricity prices - believed to be among the highest in the world - by 25% - in a year’s time, to introduce the whistleblower act, and the parties’ financing act.
The number of eligible voters is 326 296, including 29,000 voting for the first time. Turnout as usual, is expected to be high with Malta's polling stations opening Saturday between 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m.
tripoli post
Opinion polls in the past few weeks have suggested a 12-lead for the Labour Party led by a youthful 39-year-old politician, Joseph Muscat who could become one of the country’s youngest-ever Prime Ministers.
The election in the smallest member of the European Union, EU, with a population of around 400,000, was called after the government collapsed in December when it lost its one-seat majority in Parliament and to get enough votes to pass its proposed budget bill for 2013 when a dissenting government member voting with the opposition.
In the past five-year legislature the Nationalist Party, led by Lawrence Gonzi, had a turbulent time. Three of its members rebelled and one even left the party to claim an independent seat in Parliament forcing the Prime Minister to govern the last few months in coalition with his former member.
It all came to a head in December, when despite repeated losing its Parliamentary majority, and appeals for it to resign, the government still went ahead with its decision to present its budget and put it to the vote, that it eventually lost, forcing the PM to call general election for March 9.
A nine-week electoral campaign followed with the Labour Party emerging as favourite and with its leader, Joseph Muscat, a former journalist, economist and former member of the European Parliament, using the slogan of Malta Belongs to Us All calling for a change in direction.
While the Nationalist Party has been calling for more of the same, the Labour Party leader has proposed a number of important pledges, mainly to reduce Malta's electricity prices - believed to be among the highest in the world - by 25% - in a year’s time, to introduce the whistleblower act, and the parties’ financing act.
The number of eligible voters is 326 296, including 29,000 voting for the first time. Turnout as usual, is expected to be high with Malta's polling stations opening Saturday between 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m.
tripoli post
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