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2008 Maltese general election

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Field	Value
country	Malta
type	parliamentary
previous_election	2003 Maltese general election
previous_year	2003
next_election	2013 Maltese general election
next_year	2013
election_date	8 March 2008
image1	Lawrence Gonzi 2009.jpg
leader1	Lawrence Gonzi
party1	Nationalist Party (Malta)
last_election1	51.79%, 35 seats
seats1	35
seat_change1
popular_vote1	143,468
percentage1	49.34%
swing1	2.45pp
image2	Alfred Sant.jpg
leader2	Alfred Sant
party2	Labour Party (Malta)
last_election2	47.51%, 30 seats
seats2	34
seat_change2	4
popular_vote2	141,888
percentage2	48.79%
swing2	1.28pp
map_image	Malta general election 2008 01.png
title	Prime Minister
before_election	Lawrence Gonzi
before_party	Nationalist Party (Malta)
after_election	Lawrence Gonzi
after_party	Nationalist Party (Malta)

General elections were held in Malta on 8 March 2008 to elect all members of the House of Representatives They were held alongside local elections.

The elections were contested by the Nationalist Party, the Labour party, six other parties and independents. The governing Nationalist Party led by Lawrence Gonzi won its third consecutive election against the Labour Party led by Alfred Sant, winning the popular vote by a margin of just 0.55% and with its majority in parliament reduced to just one seat. Voter turnout was 93%.

Background

The House of Representatives was dissolved on 4 February, with elections scheduled for 8 March, the same day that local elections were to be held in 23 of 68 local councils.

Results

Initial exit polls and statistics suggested a very close result. Preliminary results had been expected by Sunday noon but these had to be delayed until a full first count was completed.

The Nationalist Party won with 49.33% to Labour's 48.9% a difference of 1,580 votes. Just under 2% of registered voters, 5,266 individuals, failed to collect their voting documents, so fewer than 310,000 people were eligible to vote on 8 March 2008. In total, voter turnout was 93%, the lowest in Malta since 1971.

As the Nationalist Party won the popular vote but elected only 31 Members of Parliament to Labour's 34, it was assigned an additional four seats to give the party a parliamentary majority.

Two other political parties participated in this election, Democratic Alternative and National Action, but both failed to win any seats.

Twelve casual elections were held in April 2008 to fill vacancies arising from candidates elected from two districts declining their second seat. Both the Nationalist Party and Labour each elected six members in this way, leaving the overall parliamentary numbers unchanged.

References

Michael Carabott, [http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2008-02-05/news/election-on-8-march-pm-shows-the-way-forward-203221/ "Election on 8 March: PM shows ‘the way forward’"] ''The Malta Independent'', 5 February 2008
[https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/nationalist-supporters-celebrate-a-narrow-victory.199745 "Nationalist supporters celebrate a narrow victory"], ''The Times of Malta'', 9 March 2008.
[http://www.timesofmalta.com/election2008/view/20080309/news/the-waiting-game-what-to-look-out-for "The Waiting Game: what to look out for"] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-03-12 , "The Times of Malta", 9 March 2008.)
[http://www.timesofmalta.com/election2008/view/20080309/news/turnout-drops-to-93-lowest-since-1971 "Turnout drops to 93%, lowest since 1971"], ''The Times of Malta'', 9 March 2008.
"timesofmalta.com - UPDATED: Vote counting almost completed".
(2008-04-17). "Department of Information". Doi.gov.mt.
[[Dieter Nohlen]] & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1309 {{ISBN. 9783832956097

Info: Wikipedia Source

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