Calling the election a tight contest, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday warned that the only real alternative to the Nationalist Party was a Labour government led by Alfred Sant.
"I know there are Nationalists out there saying they will not give their vote to Labour but will try the other parties instead of the PN. The truth is that, as has already happened in the past, this would mean that Alfred Sant becomes Prime Minister.
"That is why every vote counts and every possible vote has to go to the PN if we want another PN government."
Recalling the 1971 election, when the PN lost by a handful of votes, and the MEP election in 2004, when AD garnered a lot of votes but still didn't elect its candidate to Labour's advantage, the Prime Minister appealed to the electorate to reflect deeply before casting their vote on Saturday.
"In 1996, we made the mistake of thinking that the PN was going to win by a handsome majority. We took everything for granted and the end result was that Alfred Sant became Prime Minister with the consequences that everyone remembers.
"We must learn from past lessons and make sure that the same person who was Prime Minister 10 years ago is not given another chance to take the country backwards again."
Interviewed by TV personality John Bundy in an activity at St George's Square in Valletta, Dr Gonzi said the PN has shown during this campaign that it is the party with a clear vision for the future. This, he said, was backed by four consecutive years of success under his stewardship.
"We are not talking about false promises. We have put the country's finances on a sound footing, we have managed to introduce the euro, the economy is growing at a faster pace than the EU and we have created 20,000 jobs. If we are elected again we can guarantee that the country will continue to progress at a fast and steady pace."
On the MLP, the Prime Minister said the electoral campaign has shown that the party had wasted its years in opposition.
"The only thing expected from Labour during this campaign is to have a proper programme for this country's future. Instead, Dr Sant has led a campaign based on mud-slinging and tarnishing the government. People want to know what they will be doing to improve this country," he said.
Dr Gonzi pointed out that Saturday would also be the anniversary of the referendum on EU membership. "When you go to vote remember that five years ago to the day Dr Sant wanted to make us believe that he had won the referendum. He is still saying he has no regrets about this," he said.