The European elections in Malta : are they a case of second-order elections?

Abstract

"A BBC broadcaster, analysing the outcome of the European parliamentary elections, described the Maltese electorate as 'strangely enthusiastic' when mentioning the fact that the turnout on Saturday's election stood at 82 per cent." In the 2004 European Parliament elections, the average turnout for the EU25 was 45.6% whereas for Malta it was a high 87.37%. The turnout in the June 2009 European election in Malta was 35.79 percentage points (pp) above the European turnout average. When compared to the European average, the Maltese turnout is very high, nevertheless, when compared to the turnout in the National elections, the 82.37% takes a different dimension since it is significantly lower than the rate of participation in national general elections. European elections are different from National elections. At times, they are referred to as second-order elections as they are perceived to be of lesser importance and relevance by the general public. The theory of second-order elections points out a number of different indicators that distinguish first-order elections from second-order elections, for example a significant difference in voter turnout.