Valletta, Feb 21 (IANS): Malta will go to the polls on March 26, announced Prime Minister Robert Abela.

He made the announcement on Sunday while addressing a party rally in Floriana, a town near the capital Valletta, reports Xinhua news agency.

Abela also announced his Labour Party's election slogan -- "Malta Together".

This will be the first time that Abela will lead the Labour Party into an election after replacing Joseph Muscat following the political crisis that unfolded at the end of 2019 and which finally led to the latter's resignation.

The Labour Party is leading in the political surveys by a significant margin with the opposition Nationalist Party failing to make any remarkable inroads, according to some media reports.

The Nationalist Party is led by Bernard Grech who will also face his first general election at the helm of the party.

Grech also announced on Sunday the party's election slogan: "With you, for Malta."

Malta uses the single transferable vote system whereby the electorate is split into 13 electoral districts, with candidates contesting every district on the party tickets.

The party which gets the highest number of votes for its candidates governs.