Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela arrives for an informal meeting of the European Council on Ukraine and Russia at The European Council building in Brussels on February 17, 2022. (Photo by Geert Vanden WIJNGAERT / POOL / AFP)

Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela on Sunday called a general election for March 26, launching a campaign likely to be dominated by the coronavirus pandemic and the fight against corruption.

“In the coming hours, I will be going to the president and advising him to dissolve parliament for a general election to be held on 26 March,” Abela said during a party rally in Floriana.

Abela has led the Mediterranean island nation since January 2020, when Joseph Muscat quit following a political crisis over the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Opinion polls suggest their Labour party has a significant lead over the opposition Nationalist Party, pointing to a comfortable third-term win.

Abela is expected to campaign on his handling of the pandemic, highlighting support for businesses, an EU-leading vaccination campaign and a return to brisk economic growth.

But Nationalist leader Bernard Grech, who took over a year ago as the party battled poor poll ratings, is likely to focus on the government’s record on the rule of law and corruption.