46.5% of respondents in a survey commissioned by labour-leaning newspaper it-Torca have said they want Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to stay.

32.4% said Muscat should step down and 21% said they did not know.

The survey, carried out by reputable statistician Vince Marmara, also found that the electorate's trust in the two main political parties remains virtually unchanged since the 2017 general election.

The survey was published on the same day that Muscat is expected to announce he is stepping down, paving the way for a Labour leadership election slated for 18 January.

Of those who voted PL in 2017, 89.9% want Muscat to stay on. 5.4% think he should resign, and the rest are undecided.

73.6% of those who voted PN in 2017 belive that Muscat should resign. 20% said they are unsure and 6.4% think he should stay.

Overall, 55.5% of respondents say they would vote Labour, and 42.7% said they would vote PN. This translates into a lead of 12.8% for Labour, or a majority of 40,000 votes, the GWU-owned newspaper says.

51.3% of respondents say they say they trust Muscat to lead the country, with 25.6% choosing Opposition Leader Adrian Delia.

In a Facebook post, Marmara said this is just a snapshot of the current situation, and things may change as new facts emerge. "This is not my personal opinion but the current perception of people," he said.

"Is it the right time for such a survey? Surely it's not the right time to understand this result in light of the next election in 2022, but one can understand what the people think right now in such an extraordinary situation."