The electorate goes to the polls on Saturday, all too soon after a fiercely contested referendum and an ongoing campaign in which no quarter was given.

Some politicians resorted to dirty tactics, with blows below the belt, some of which were amply reciprocated. In so far as all of this polluted the democratic environment, and is to be deplored, the maturity of the electorate prevailed. This has been no major incident.

There will now be a day of reflection and the die will be cast.

Free elections are elections in which each eligible voter has the opportunity - an equal opportunity - to express consent in the light of his own opinions and sentiments.

Intimidation is one form of attack on this independence. Bribery is another form, as dangerous as much as it is repulsive.

Free elections depend on free communications. The law upholds the right of every citizen to air his or her views before the electorate by any means consistent with public order. But mass communication is very expensive and could turn out to favour rich men and rich parties. A combination of power and wealth could dominate and control mass communication, to "condition" the electorate, and to decide what political information and arguments are to reach the public forum, and what is to be the general tone of discussion in the media.

In one way or another, these and other related considerations arose during the electoral campaign. Thinking electors have, no doubt, positioned themselves after taking stock of all the arguments raised.

They are now making their sums in anticipation of exercising their sovereign right at the ballot box.

Their right is to choose and to have their say. The respective political parties have drawn up their manifestos. Politicians have offered their services in order to implement them. The sovereign electorate will now call the shots.

Mature electors will, no doubt, construct their aspirations on the bedrock of solid national interests. But their family and community interests are bound to feature in such a framework, to a degree that is significant.

The choice at the recent referendum was restricted to a single, exclusive issue, namely whether or not one agreed with the proposal that Malta should opt for EU membership at the first enlargement in 2004.

The electoral horizon is now very much wider. It has to do with the here and now, with Malta's ability to survive the man-made tribulations it had to endure during the past four or five years or whether the electorate should opt for a safer pair of hands to run the show.

Many will grapple with unanswered questions of long-standing, relating to allegations of corruption and drug-related episodes that have been swept under the carpet.

Others will release pent-up feelings as they groan under the weight of taxation or shudder at the sight of rising and uncontrolled national debt.

And, indeed, there will be many others who will insist with some vehemence on the imperative that the Maltese, who are masters in their own home, should on no account surrender their national sovereignty. They would argue that the subterfuge of "sharing sovereignty" with the EU is tantamount to its surrender.

Yet more voters are likely to raise soul-searching constitutional issues relating to Malta's neutrality, now and in the future.

It would take much more space to recite this litany in full. Suffice it to say that thinking electors have to find the composure, between now and Saturday, to weigh up their position on issues relating to the past and future education of their children, their past and future employment prospects, their spending power and the quality of their life as their disposable income steadily contracts.

Some electors may tend to take the view that some of these questions have to do with the imponderable, since that part of the equation which has to do with the future could yet be positively managed.

In the final analysis, when thinking electors exercise their right to vote on Saturday, they will be placing their trust in politicians who are deemed capable of implementing their mandate. This is an act of discernment as to the next government, deemed to be responsible for the people as well as to them.

There is nothing imponderable about governments that broke their promises and performed hopelessly, without giving an adequate account of their stewardship.

If this key consideration will take the ascendancy this Saturday, Malta and Europe are due for a big surprise.

My guess is as good as any other's.

What matters is the verdict of the sovereign electorate, before whom I bow my head and bend my knees.