PL is the largest party in the MEP Elections but fails to win a majority.

The Partit Laburista emerged as the largest party in the European Elections held in Malta on Saturday. However it suffered a dramatic 34,000 vote drop in the gap between the Partit Nazzjonalista who managed to claw back to within just 8454 votes.

This result meant that both parties elected three MEP's each as was widely predicted. You can view the full results here. 

This is also the first time in a decade that the PL got less than 50% of the total vote while turnout remained in line with 2019 at around 73%.

The results mean that the PL will have to give up one of its four MEP seats, returning it to the PN and restoring the three-three balance to the Maltese European Parliament delegation.

“Your decision has sent us a message of trust, but also other messages which we understood well,” Prime Minister Robert Abela told a victory rally on Sunday afternoon.

The ruling party has been rocked by scandals throughout its tenure which has run interrupted since 2013. This included the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, scandals involving Pilatus Bank, citizenship by investment schemes, Electrogas, FATF greylisting, and the ongoing Vitals Global Healthcare scandal.

The latter saw charges filed against former prime minister Joseph Muscat, former health minister Konrad Mizzi, former chief of staff Keith Schembri, and deputy prime minister and commissioner candidate Chris Fearne, as well as other party officials.