Labour Leader Alfred Sant said yesterday that the will of the majority of the residents at Mtarfa had been betrayed when a motion of no confidence was approved by three local councillors on Friday, deposing former mayor Josephine Abela.

The motion of no confidence had been moved by deputy mayor John Camilleri who had been elected on a Labour Party ticket. He has since been censured by the party, barring him from holding any post or representing the MLP.

Mr Camilleri's motion got the backing of the two Nationalist councillors - Godfrey Muscat, who has now taken over the post of deputy mayor, and John Said.

Dr Sant was speaking near the Mtarfa council offices in the presence of a group of residents loyal to Mrs Abela.

One of the residents gave reporters a copy of a resolution bearing the name: Komunità Residenti Mtarfa, which among other things stated that Mr Camilleri was being considered persona non grata and was a discredited mayor.

Expressing solidarity with Mrs Abela and her husband Salvu, who is the other Labour councillor, Dr Sant said the party would keep an eye on what went on at Mtarfa council.

The party, he added, will bring pressure to bear to reverse Friday's decision.

"When one rides roughshod over democracy, people have a right to express their scorn. People pressure will lead democracy to be expressed not only by word of mouth but by actions that reflect the will of the people", Dr Sant said.

Mrs Abela said that she and the party had tried to intervene and change the way things were developing. She said that since he was elected last March, Mr Camilleri had put spokes in the wheels calling into question most of her actions and decisions.

Mrs Abela, who had been mayor for three years and seven months, noted that there had not been any political differences between the councillors for the first three years she was mayor.

"I tend to take a lot of personal initiatives on behalf of all the residents of Mtarfa, irrespective of their political beliefs. It could be that these new councillors could not accept that I was always busy obtaining assistance and material goods for the benefit of residents," Mrs Abela said.

Malcolm Mifsud, president of the college of Nationalist councillors, said in a statement that Dr Sant was not interested in whether the former mayor was abiding by the law - getting the approval of the council when effecting payment or commissioning work - and whether she was passing on correct information to the council about the payments she made.

Dr Mifsud argued that one cannot understand why the MLP was saying that the will of the people was not being respected.

Mr Camilleri contested the local council election as a Labour candidate but it was the MLP that had censured him.

Mr Camilleri had neither left the MLP nor joined the Nationalist Party, Dr Mifsud said.