Malta holds general election as Prime Minister Abela seeks new mandate

Polls opened on Saturday in Malta's snap general election, with Prime Minister Robert Abela's centre-left Labour Party (MLP) widely expected to secure another victory in the European Union's smallest member state.

More than 341,000 residents are eligible to vote and are called upon to cast their ballots. Polling stations are set to close at 10pm (2000 GMT).

Polls suggest that Abela's governing MLP party is ahead of Alex Borg's conservative Nationalist Party (PN). A win for Abela would extend his party's 13-year hold on power.

Vote counting will begin on Sunday morning, with one of the two main parties expected to declare victory between mid-morning and early afternoon based on preliminary results. The official result is due later in the day.

Abela called the election a year ahead of schedule in late April, citing global geopolitical concerns arising from the war in Iran.

He stated that his government needed a new mandate to guide Malta and its citizens through a looming energy crisis.

Meanwhile, the PN centred its campaign on Borg, 30, portraying the lawyer and former Mr World Malta winner as a fresh political alternative capable of bringing change after more than a decade of Labour rule.