Independent MP Hermann Schiavone, a member within PN Leader Adrian Delia’s inner circle and electoral system expert, has predicted a “difficult day” for his former party, with the Labour Party expected to take advantage of the drop in turnout.

“The PN has a difficult day ahead of them. It looks like the PL is going to win by a huge margin. This happened because of a faction in the PN who decided not to vote. On the other hand, the PL managed to mobilise the voter base,” Schiavone wrote on social media.

Party delegates and officials have indicated that the gap could be as wide as 50,000 votes.

At 72.6%, this is the lowest turnout ever in an EP election in Malta. The 10th and 12th districts recorded the lowest turnouts.

Lawyer and Occupy Justice Activist Andrew Borg Cardona has already criticised Schiavone’s position, writing in a post that the “finger-pointing” had started.

“It’s everyone’s fault except ours. It’s nothing to do with our incompetence,” he wrote.

Former PN Councillor Charlot Cassar wrote that the Delia stepping down to start make space for a new leader would be the ideal scenario for the party, while allowing him to stay on and fail to should responsibility for the result will only create more doubt.

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Julian Bonnici

Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.