114 persons (103 recruits and 11 office workers) were employed by the Armed Forces in the month leading up to the May general elections, figures tabled by Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia who was answering a question put forward by the PN MP Jason Azzopardi revealed.

This comes after a previous parliamentary question, sent and answered by the same two men, revealed that a total of 574 AFM officials received promotions during the same month.

After Azzopardi suggested that these promotions and recruitments may be interpreted as attempts to 'curry votes', Farrugia said that the call for applications took place on 11 November 2016, when there was no indication that an election will take place in June.

He also said that this would have been a whole eighteen months before the end of the stipulated end of the previous legislature.

Asked why the minister did not wait to employ these individuals till after the election was over, Farrugia said that the human resources should always take precedence.