Polling stations across Malta and Gozo are closing after 16 hours of polling characterised by relatively slow movement during the first part of the day following by a rush in the evening which forced an extension of the opening time by an hour.
Polling otherwise took place is a calm atmosphere and no incidents were reported.
Archbishop Paul Cremona was the first of the national leaders to cast his vote, at 8 a.m. in Sliema, followed by the leader of Azzjoni Nazzjonali, Josie Muscat and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at Marsascala between 10 and 11 a.m.
President Eddie Fenech Adami voted at Birkirkara at 11 a.m.
Alternattiva Demokratika leader Harry Vassallo cast his vote in Sliema at 11.30 a.m. and MLP leader Alfred Sant voted at Birkirkara at 2 p.m.
The party leaders’ day was about as hectic as the rest of the five-week electoral campaign. They went all over Malta, and in Dr Gonzi’s case also Gozo, meeting supporters in village squares and party clubs to urge them on and to encourage people to go out to vote. Both appeared to be in buoyant mood and were warmly welcomed wherever they went.
The Electoral Commission said 45 percent of voters had cast their vote by 2 p.m., down four percent when compared to the 2003 general election. But activity started to pick up late in the afternoon, with many people apparently having decided to vote just before or just after Saturday Mass.
Queues were particularly long in some of the localities where local elections are also being held, and the Electoral Commission decided just before 8 p.m. to extend the opening times of polling stations by an extra hour.
As in previous elections, most of the polling stations were located in government schools, along with some in local council offices or parish centres.
The police set up a buffer zone around each one of them, forcing shops within to close and prohibiting parking. Party representatives watched movement from just beyond.
For those having nothing to talk about, the weather was an easy subject. It was changeable throughout the day, with occasional showers, wind gusts, and even hail and thunder in Gozo.
Standing for election were 169 candidates of whom 76 are on the Nationalist Party list, 70 on the Labour Party's, nine are with Alternattiva Demokratika, nine with Azzjoni Nazzjonali and five are independents. Many of them are contesting two districts.
As the polling stations close the assistant electoral commissioners and party representatives will compile the ballot paper account which will account for the votes in each ballot box. The boxes will be closed and sealed and then transported under police escort to the new counting hall at Naxxar, where the vote counting process will start.
The people's verdict is expected to be known around midday on Sunday. timesofmalta.com will report developments as they happen.
Picture: Ballot boxes are checked before the polling started. The boxes were closed at 11 p.m. for transport to Naxxar, where vote counting will take place.