No compromise reached on Floriana mayorship

Floriana remains without a mayor after a proposal by the Labour Party was turned down in a council meeting on Thursday.

The council has no clear majority, after both Labour and PN elected two councillors each, with independent councillor Nigel Holland kingmaker in the Floriana council. The PN elected James Aaron Ellul and Justine Palmer, while the PL elected Sandra Sammut Hili and Justine Haber.

Labour has proposed Sandra Sammut Hili as mayor, but both the PN and independent councillors voted against the nomination. The PN didn’t nominate a mayor themselves, taking the stance that the PL, as the party with a relative majority, must reach a compromise itself.

Another meeting will be held next week, during which councillors hope a compromise will be reached.

If the councillors do not reach an agreement in the vote next week, the law allows for the candidate with the highest number of votes from the party that obtained the most votes—in this case, Sammut Hili—to be appointed mayor for three months.

This process will need to be repeated every three months throughout the legislature.

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