In a very unusual situation, the Labour Party has ended up controlling the Għargħur Local Council following Francesca Attard’s rebellion against the Nationalist Party mayor. The mayor, Helen Gauci, has been replaced with a Labour Party councilor following a vote of no confidence against her with Francesca Attard also voting against her.
The new Għargħur mayor is Mariah Meli but doesn’t seem to have made any official announcement on her role. Instead she just announced that today the Għargħur Local Council will be closed.
Helen Gauci, the previous mayor obtained up to 869 first-preference votes in the elections. Mariah Meli, by contrast, has obtained only 433 votes with her other Labour colleague in the council, Christopher Fenech, having been elected with 264 votes. In total, Helen Gauci has more votes combined than the two Labour local councilors.
There are five councilors in the Għargħur Local Council. Two Labour Party Councilors, the independent candidate Francesca Attard, and two Nationalist Party Councilors. The Nationalist Party obtained up to 62% of the votes in the elections. Francesca Attard received 177 first-preference votes and was elected with 336 votes.
I don’t understand why the Labour Party sees this as an opportunity to exploit. Residents in Għargħur will definitely feel that the Labour Party is imposing on them a mayor they did not vote for.
You can also see the election figures below.
Photo above shows the new mayor Mariah Meli.
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