Update 2 | Turnout for 2013 election is at 93%

Official turnout for the 2013 election is at 93%, the same level as the 2008 election.

High turnouts of 95% were registered in the second and fourth district, while lower turnouts were evident in the ninth district (92%) and the 13th 'Gozo' district at 92%, and the lowest was in the Nationalist stronghold of the 10th district, at 90% and the 12th district of 90%.

By 2pm, turnout at 2pm in Malta's thirteen districts equalled that of 2003, at 49%.

High turnouts of 50% or over where registered in the 1^st district, as well as the 4^th, 5^th, 6^th - both districts held by Labour in terms of the vote share of 2008 - and in the 9^th, 10^th Nationalist strongholds and the Gozo district.

Local councils on the other hand registered a turnout of 41% by 2pm, with the lowest registered in Bormla at 34% and the highest in Gudja at 53%.

As soon as the fifteen hours of polling ended, both Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Opposition leader Joseph Muscat thanked the volunteers and workers who supported their respective parties throughout the two months.

Meanwhile at the counting hall in Naxxar, the tedious process of the reconciliation of votes will soon be underway. The sorting of the ballot papers is set to start tomorrow morning at 11am, meaning that within an hour or so political parties would have a clear indication of the results. 

The highest turnout was in the fourth district at 55%, but none of the districts reached the high 57% that the 10^th district had registered back in 2003.

The fourth district has a Labour line-up that includes Opposition leader Joseph Muscat, and other star candidates like Konrad Mizzi and Chis Fearne.

The lowest turnout at 2pm was in the third district, a Labour stronghold, at 44% - but an improvement over the 41% registered in 2008.

In 2008, turnout levels were low at 2pm - the lowest was 37% in the twelfth district, which in this election is now up to 47%.

But in the ninth district, where Lawrence Gonzi is running, registered a lower turnout at 2pm than in 2008, down from 48% to 46%.

It is hard to speculate on what voter turnout means: Labour leader Joseph Muscat asked his supporters to "vote early", so the high turnout could indicate an eager participation by Labour voters.

In 2003, the so called 'EU election' which returned the incumbent PN to power, high levels of turnout in both Labour and Nationalist districts were also registered.