Maltese voters headed to the polls on Saturday in a snap election that will determine who leads the Mediterranean island nation for the next five years. Polling stations opened Saturday morning, with the race seen as a tight contest between the ruling Labour Party and the centrist Nationalist Party.
Prime Minister Robert Abela, leader of the Labour Party, called the election a year early amid the impact of the Iran conflict on global markets. Mr. Abela feared that soaring energy prices and inflation stemming from the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could undermine his party's bid for an unprecedented fourth consecutive term.
The economy is expected to dominate this year's election, with rising rents and deteriorating infrastructure topping many voters' concerns. Malta's public health system also faces growing strain after a population surge in the country, already the European Union's smallest and most densely populated member.
Opinion polls show Mr. Abela's party on course to win, as the Labour Party has dominated Maltese politics for the past decade. However, the Nationalist Party's new leader, Alex Borg, hopes to oust Labour and become Malta's youngest prime minister at age 30.
The election takes place under the shadow of the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed by a car bomb in 2017. She had exposed corruption in Malta, and her death eventually led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. A public inquiry concluded that the government bore responsibility for her death, though no direct evidence linked it. The report said the government had created a 'climate of impunity' that led Caruana Galizia's killers to believe they would face no consequences.
In June 2025, two men were sentenced to life in prison for supplying the car bomb that killed her. Election results are expected around midday Sunday.
