Opposition leader Alex Borg on Thursday described Prime Minister Robert Abela's silence following Yorgen Fenech's acquittal as "shocking", questioning what steps the government will now take to strengthen Malta's institutions and ensure justice in the Daphne Caruana Galizia case.

Speaking during a press conference in Parliament, Borg called for further reforms to strengthen the independence of Malta's institutions following Yorgen Fenech's acquittal, saying the country was now waiting to find out who was behind the assassination of Caruana Galizia.

Borg said reforms were necessary to prevent incidents and assassinations such as Caruana Galizia's from happening again, while safeguarding journalists and freedom of expression.

"We need to see that the necessary reforms are carried out within Parliament so that actions, incidents and assassinations such as these are not seen again in our country," Borg said.

He said the country must ensure that journalists and freedom of expression are safeguarded, while strengthening the separation between Malta's institutions.

Borg said this was necessary to prevent institutions from becoming intertwined, as he said had emerged from facts presented during Fenech's jury trial.

"We have seen what the result is when there is a lack of separation and independence between institutions," he said, adding that Malta must move towards a stronger democracy.

"We bow our heads to the jury's verdict, but now we need to see what steps will be taken so that, ultimately, we find out who the person or persons behind the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia are," Borg said.

"Ultimately, Yorgen Fenech has been acquitted, but the country is now waiting to see which person or persons were behind her murder," he added

Borg also criticised Prime Minister Robert Abela for not having spoken publicly following the verdict, describing his silence as "striking" and "shocking".

"It is shocking that hours after the jury's verdict, the Prime Minister of our country has still not uttered a word, or at least the Justice Minister or the Home Affairs Minister," Borg said.

He said no comments had been heard about the verdict or what steps would now be taken to further strengthen the independence of Malta's institutions.

Borg called for further reforms to ensure the country has laws which safeguard its democracy and moves towards justice.

He also said justice had not been served for Caruana Galizia's family following the verdict.

"Ultimately, justice must also be done with Daphne's family, and today we know that justice has not been done with them," Borg said.

He said the coming days must show what steps the government intended to take to ensure that the necessary justice was ultimately delivered.