A 16-year-old girl has been approved by the Nationalist Party to run as local council candidate in Qrendi. 

Nina Briffa, is the youngest candidate the PN has approved so far. 

But she will not be the youngest candidate across the country: Izak Catania De Giovanni, who turns 16 this weekend, will be running as a Labour candidate for Fgura's local council. 

Catania De Giovanni is the son of Labour MP Katya De Giovanni. 

Labour MP Katya De Giovanni with her son Izak Catania De Giovanni, who is standing in the local elections in June. Photo: Facebook

Should Briffa or De Giovanni be elected, they would be the youngest-ever councillors elected. Currently, that record is held by Carlos Zarb, who was 17 years old when he was elected to the St Paul's Bay council in 2019. 

Briffa announced her Qrendi PN candidacy on Facebook, where she thanked Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech and the party's executive for giving her the chance to run for public office.

The teenager was recently elected to the student's council of De La Salle sixth form, which she attends. 

“I’ve been actively involved in politics since the age of 13, I’ve always been very opinionated and outspoken about matters that are important to me,” she told Times of Malta. 

Briffa is the president of PN youth wing Teamstart, a post she was elected to last May. She previously served as Teamstart's public relations officer. 

If elected, she intends to encourage youth activism, she said. 

"I feel that my responsibilities include addressing residents' concerns, particularly related to maintaining the natural environment and the village's culture as well as encouraging youth activism locally and nationally," she said.

Briffa said she believes tackling issues that impact youths - from education to mental health - will be more effective if youths are elected to office and national and local levels. 

Last December, Malta became the first EU country to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to become mayors and deputy mayors, after parliament unanimously approved a new bill.

Under the new law, councillors under the age of 18 who win the highest number of votes from the party that gets the majority of votes can take up the post of mayor or deputy mayor.

The legal amendment proved controversial, but Briffa argued that if voters do not want young mayors, they can simply not vote for young candidates. 

"However, I don't think this will be the case, as during the last general election many young candidates, such as Eve Borg Bonello, were elected," she said, referring to the 20-year-old Opposition MP. 

"I believe that balancing council work and studies isn't a huge issue, as there are many youths who balance sports and studies, or a part-time job and studies," Briffa said. "It isn't easy but I'm sure I'll manage."