Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat won a second term in office after calling a snap parliamentary election last month to counter allegations of corruption against his wife and some of his political allies. Muscat’s Labour Party won 55 percent of votes in Saturday’s election, handing it an absolute majority in the 65-seat parliament, according to political sources on both sides involved in the vote tally. The Labour Party had polled about five percentage points ahead of the rival Nationalist Party going into the vote. Nationalist Party chief Simon Busuttil called Muscat and conceded defeat on Sunday morning.
Muscat’s supporters celebrated the victory on the streets of the Mediterranean island, blaring car horns and waving flags.
“Thank you for this big vote of confidence,” Muscat told thousands of cheering supporters at his party’s just outside the capital.
“You have confirmed your confidence in the movement despite one of the most negative electoral campaigns in the country’s history,” he said, pledging to push through legislation that had been put on hold for the vote.
Full Article: Maltese PM Muscat wins second term in snap election | Reuters.