VALLETTA, Malta — Maltese citizens will finally be able to divorce in their own country after lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to allow it today, ending sharp debate on the issue in this heavily Catholic island nation.

The law will take effect in October, after Malta’s president is expected to sign it.

Malta was the only European Union nation without divorce legislation. Up to now, Maltese citizens could only obtain divorce abroad. In the last 30 years, 785 Maltese couples have divorced this way, with numbers gradually rising from seven in 1981 to 47 in 2010.

Parliament acted after nearly 53 percent of voters said “yes” to divorce in a referendum on May 28. The vote was a blow to the ruling Nationalist Party, which had opposed divorce ahead of the referendum.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi once again voted against the bill, sticking to his conviction that the introduction of divorce legislation will weaken the family structure.

The bill was passed with 52 votes in favor, 11 against and five abstentions, with one MP absent, a crushing result considering that most laws in Malta are passed by just one vote. Nineteen Nationalist MPs approved the legislation, going against their party’s official stand.