There will be 332,000 voters in the upcoming election as opposed to the 315,000 in 2008, Chief Electoral Commissioner Saviour Gauci told di-ve.com.

The last electoral register was published in October 2012, with another one planned to be published in January. This will include, for the first time, people who will be turning 18 years of age as of the eve of the election which is expected to be held on March 9. There will be around 19,000 people turning 18 between January and March.

These 19,000 new voters will be able to receive their documents immediately as they are published, regardless of whether or not they would have turned 18 yet.

If a name is not found on the electoral register which will be published this month, that person will have 21 days in order to retrieve a signed statement from the law courts stating whether or not that person is eligible to vote, Mr. Gauci explained.

Speaking about the process of issuing the voting documents, Mr. Gauci told di-ve.com that; "Within five days from the issue of the Presidential Writ, the Electoral Commission will have have to issue the electoral register and within another three days create the voting documents. These will then be handed over to the police, who will have a minimum of 19 days to distribute the voting documents across the Maltese Islands. The documents will also be available in police stations, where people can pick them up with their I.D. cards. In the last few days before the elections, the documents will also be available here at the Electoral Office in Valletta. The Writ will be issued sometime after the official proclamation of the official date for the general elections".

The electoral register is compiled from birth certificates as well as I.D. card registrations.

The votes will be counted in the Naxxar counting hall. "It is a large hall which can accommodate everyone including the police, political parties and the media. There will be around 5,000 people working for the Electoral Commission, with around 2,000 of these people counting the votes after they have been cast," the Chief Electoral Commissioner concluded.