Labour Party projected to win four seats in European Parliament election

The Labour Party could expect to win four out of Malta’s six seats in the European Parliament, according to projections released by the Brussels parliament.

This is the second poll-of-polls exercise carried out by Kantar Public for the EP’s communication office.

In its first projection at the start of February, the polling company had also given the PL four seats against the PN’s two.

MaltaToday surveys have consistently given the PL a healthy lead over the PN but the results may be difficult to interpret in terms of seats the parties will win in the European Parliament election because of the vote transfer mechanism.

The EP’s projection is based on a calculation that estimates the number of quotas a party would have obtained as a result of its first count vote.

The composition of the European Parliament according to projections

The Europe-wide findings show that the two largest mainstream parties – S&D and EPP – will experience losses come next May.

The Socialists and Democrats, the PL’s political family, is projected to capture 135 seats, 51 fewer than what it currently holds.

The European People’s Party, the PN’s political family, is projected to win 181 seats, 36 less than its current strength.

Significant gains will be registered by Eurosceptic and far-right groupings, as well as seats held by political parties that are not aligned with existing groupings.

The European Parliament will have 705 seats in the next legislature, down from 751, as a result of the UK’s departure from the EU.