The National Statistics Office said on Wednesday that it postponed the publication of government finance and unemployment data until after the election to observe laws prohibiting material that could influence voters during the silent day period.
But four years ago, the NSO had published government finance statistics on 25 March 2022, the day before the election, which was also silent day.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the NSO said it had noted recent media reports regarding the decision taken on 21 May 2026 to reschedule the publication of "Government Finance Data: January - April 2026" and "Registered Unemployment: April 2026" from 29 May to 3 and 4 June respectively.
The Malta Independent on Tuesday reported on Tuesday that the NSO website had indicated that the government finance data for January-April 2026 and unemployment statistics for April 2026, originally due on 29 May (silent day), had been postponed until after the election.
The reason for rescheduling the statistics, the NSO said in its statement to the media on Wednesday, was "taken in full observance of the principles imposed by Article 114(1) of Chapter 354 of the Laws of Malta 'General Elections Act'. This provision stipulates that during the day immediately preceding an election and on the day of the General Election, no person may publish any printed matter or other means of communication to the public which may likely influence voters."
Yet four years ago, the NSO had published similar figures on silent day, 25 March 2022, as can be seen in link to the NSO website. The data had also been reported by The Malta Independent on its website on 25 March, which was silent day, and in its election day printed edition on 26 March 2022.
"Breach of this provision carries with it a fine and imprisonment," the NSO said in its statement Wednesday. "Guided by the spirit of this legislation, as well as the core values of integrity, neutrality, ethics and sound statistical governance, the NSO deemed it prudent and correct to avoid publishing official statistics when voters are legally entitled to a reflection window."
The NSO added that publishing such data "at a time when policymakers are in a legal impossibility to react to the published statistics in a timely and meaningful manner would create an unfair information asymmetry".
It also stressed that the decision had been taken on 21 May and published on the NSO online calendar on 22 May, before the data had been compiled.
"At that time, the data was not yet compiled and therefore the contents of the statistics were unknown," the NSO said.
The NSO maintained its scheduled release of Gross Domestic Product data for the first quarter of 2026 on Thursday, 28 May, saying this fell outside the legally mandated reflection period.
"Accordingly, the postponement was guided solely by considerations of institutional responsibility and sound statistical practice," the NSO said.
"The objective remains to ensure that official statistics continue to serve their intended purpose effectively and appropriately, and in a manner consistent with the spirit of Article 114(1) of the General Elections Act."