Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is expected to dissolve Mtarfa council tomorrow, following internal squabbles which have left it unable to function since October, The Sunday Times has learnt.

Mtarfa council is only the third - the other two were Paola and Sannat - to be dissolved in the past 15 years. But it is understood that the Prime Minister feels he has no choice following several attempts to resolve the issues.

The Labour-led Mtarfa council's problem lay, fundamentally, in the fact that one of the councillors no longer supported the mayor and her proposals.

Joseph Vassallo, who was elected on the Labour Party ticket, would sometimes vote in favour, sometimes against, and at other times he would abstain from proposals, meaning projects could not get off the ground and the local council could not operate, according to sources.

Local council meetings must be held every month by law, but the Mtarfa council last convened in November, following a meeting with the Department of Local Government and the lawyers of both parties to try and resolve the impasse.

The lack of goodwill at the meeting resulted in a dead end and the issues that had to be discussed were not even tackled, the sources said.

This is not the first time Mtarfa's mayor, Josephine Abela, has been associated with problems within councils, the sources said.

Moreover, the meetings used to be scheduled at times when the PN councillors could not attend; the secretary had resigned and the position had to be occupied by an acting secretary. Another clerk had also resigned. Other problems included a lack of agreement on the approval of minutes.

Dr Gonzi is expected to recommend the dissolution of the council to President Eddie Fenech Adami and fresh elections would have to be held within 30 days. The Electoral Commission would have to open the nominations for candidates, and those elected would serve a one-year term, as opposed to three, since the next local election at Mtarfa is scheduled for March 2009. Local councils can also be dissolved due to financial reasons: for example, if they are plagued by a deficit that keeps increasing at an alarming rate and the issue is not addressed.