Malta votes twice for Europe: The accession referendum and general election, March/April 2003

Article abstract:

Following successful accession negotiations, the Maltese people were asked to vote - on two separate occasions - on whether Malta should become a member of the European Union. With Malta's two main political parties split down the middle on the issue of EU membership, the result of the referendum of 8 March 2003 - 53.65 per cent in favour of accession - did not ensure that Malta would accede to the EU on 1 May 2004. Instead it was the general election, held six weeks after the referendum, that confirmed, by a majority of 51.79 per cent, that Malta would after all become the EU's smallest Member State.