EP voting turnout around 78%

Around 78 per cent cast their vote yesterday as the country went to the polls to elect its five representatives for the European Parliament.

The turnout is four per cent lower than the 82 per cent registered in Malta's first-ever EP election five years ago. Counting is expected to start at around noon today and the parties should have an indication of the overall result within an hour or so.

Polls have repeatedly pointed towards a Labour victory.

However, the official result of the first count votes will not be announced before 10 p.m. today.

Voting was marred by an incident in Zejtun where a Nationalist Party agent was allegedly struck in the face by a Labour supporter who was associated with political violence in the 1980s.

According to the PN, party agent Grezzju Bondin fell to the ground after being struck by two Labour supporters - Edwin Bartolo, known as il-Qahbu, and another man - in the vicinity of the polling station at Carlo Diacono Junior Lyceum.

Joe Brownrigg, another PN agent, told The Sunday Times the trouble began after he complained to police that an unauthorised person, Mr Bartolo, was at the polling station.

According to a letter sent by the PN to electoral commissioner Edward Gatt, copied to Police Commissioner John Rizzo, Mr Bartolo was seen leaving the school soon afterwards.

Mr Brownrigg said at around 3 p.m. he was leaving the area with Mr Bondin when they came across a group of around 10 Labour representatives.

"(Mr) Bartolo was with them and he called out to me, asking why I had reported him. I replied it was something we normally did," Mr Brownrigg said.

Mr Bondin asked Mr Bartolo to leave his friend alone but an argument ensued and the Labour supporter punched Mr Bondin in the face.

"Suddenly another man came rushing towards us and again hit Grezzju, who fell to the ground. I am scared to go back," Mr Brownrigg said.

Police confirmed they are investigating the incident while the PN has called on the electoral commissioner to take immediate action. Sources said police presence was stepped up after the incident, and it is understood that they only managed to apprehend Mr Bartolo late last night.

In a statement, the Labour Party insisted that the aggressor was not representing the PL in any way.

"Labour condemns any kind of provocation and reaction and believes that all the necessary steps dictated by law should be taken," the party said.

Soon after the incident, a text message started making the rounds saying that Malta had gone back to the 1980s and that the PL would never change.

The only other complaints of the day were made by voters who felt the Electoral Commission was taking security arrangements to unnecessary extremes with its strict imposition of the 50-metre limit from polling stations. The Sunday Times received complaints from voters who felt harassed by over-zealous policemen.

The political parties wrapped up their campaigns last Thursday with television broadcasts that ran until midnight, exhorting voters to collect their voting document.

But the campaigning kept going until the last minute yesterday, with candidates, MPs, party officials and canvassers calling reluctant voters to go to the polling station.

Many woke up to find their letter boxes and car windscreens cluttered with campaign leaflets.

It is also understood that Cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries were urged by the Nationalist Party to carry out between 200 to 300 home visits in the past week.

Over 15,800 voting documents for the EP election remained uncollected, representing 4.9 per cent of registered voters - up by over 5,000 from 2004. An analysis of electoral districts shows that the highest number of uncollected documents was in PN-leaning districts.

Candidates will need a quota of over 40,000 votes to be elected. The candidate in sixth place may still gain a seat, however, if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by member states later this year.

The first top official to cast his vote yesterday was Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. About an hour later, President George Abela cast his vote in the same polling station in Marsascala.

Speaking to the media outside the polling station in Burmarrad, PL leader Joseph Muscat described the campaign as very civil.

"I hope that whoever wins will keep the country's interest first and foremost," he said.

Dr Muscat would not say what he would consider to be a good result for his party.

He defended his party from criticism that it focused on local issues while ignoring the European dimension, saying he believed that what people felt in Malta was also important.

"Malta is part of Europe and so local issues are European issues."

During the campaign, Dr Gonzi accused the PL of basing its campaign on national issues whereas the PN was basing itself on issues with an EU context.

Yesterday's turnout might be relatively low by Maltese standards, but it is expected to be among the highest in the EU's 27 elections, where voter apathy is widely expected.

Cyprus, Latvia and Slovakia also headed to the polls yesterday, with the rest voting today.

The far-right made significant gains in The Netherlands where elections were held last Thursday.

Local elections were also held in 23 localities yesterday, representing a third of all voters.