‘What happened in Għargħur is unacceptable’ Momentum say
Party secretary Camilleri Gambin said that due to the "crisis" in Għargħur extraordinary elections need to be called.
The PL overturning the Għargħur local council in their favour is “unacceptable” and disrespects the people’s will, centrist party Momentum said on Thursday.
“What transpired in Għargħur is unacceptable. The will of the people should always be respected,” party secretary Mark Camilleri Gambin said.
Camilleri Gambin said that due to the "crisis" in Għargħur, extraordinary elections need to be called.
Despite winning 62 per cent of votes, the Nationalist Party recently lost control of the Għargħur council after one of the party’s three councillors, Francesca Attard, quit the party.
Attard went on to vote to depose PN mayor Helen Gauci and support PL councillor Mariah Meli to become mayor instead.
“A political manoeuvre by the Labour Party has overturned the voters' will on who should be mayor in the locality,” Camilleri Gambin said on Thursday afternoon.
“Unfortunately, the current law allows for loopholes in such situations. These loopholes must be urgently addressed”.
He said the rules on electing local councils “need to be revised to reflect today’s political landscape, especially with the growing number of independent and third-party candidates being elected”.
“Proper rules must be put in place to prevent similar situations in future, ensure a level playing field and to safeguard democracy at all levels,” Camilleri Gambin said.
Asked what Momentum specifically wanted changed, Camilleri Gambin said the electoral system should better respect proportionality.
“The electoral system should be refined to ensure seat allocations in each locality achieve the highest possible correlation between the percentage of votes received by parties (or independents) and the percentage of seats they obtain”.
“If a crisis arises, as is happening in Gharghur right now, since we are only interested in reflecting the popular vote proportionally, the original vote result can only be changed by another extraordinary election, to allow the people of Gharghur to express themselves,” Camilleri Gambin said.
Momentum also called on authorities to investigate claims of financial mismanagement being made towards former Għargħur mayor Gauci.
"The Nationalist Party should also carry out an internal review to establish the facts and publish its findings”.