Frans Ghirxi, former editor of L-Orizzont, and lawyer Allessandro Lia have been appointed members of the Broadcasting Authority.

They were nominated for the post by the Prime Minister after last month’s resignations of Rose Sciberras and Reno Borg.

Dr Borg resigned following his appointment as financial services arbiter, and Ms Sciberras, the wife of former Labour MP and former judge Philip Sciberras, stepped down for “health reasons”.

Both were the Labour Party’s nominees.

The authority was advised to go slow by its legal counsel until the two members who resigned were replaced.

However, Faculty of Law Dean Kevin Aquilina disagreed, arguing that the authority could still function with three members.

The Constitution stipulates that members of the Broadcasting Authority are to be appointed by the President of Malta following nominations by the Prime Minister after consulting the Opposition leader.

The authority was advised togo slow by its legal counsel

In practice, however, the government and the Opposition make two nominations each and the chair is usually agreed upon by both.

Dr Lia is the son of Paul Lia, the Labour Party’s lawyer.

Mr Ghirxi was the editor of the General Workers’ Union daily newspaper until 2010, when he retired.

After the 2013 election, Mr Ghirxi formed part of then-Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca’s secretariat.

The BA board is headed by Tanya Borg Cardona. She was nominated by the Prime Minister, and although the Opposition agreed not to oppose her, the Nationalist Party signalled its reservations citing her lack of experience in the field.

The other two members nominated by the Opposition are lawyer Peter Fenech and public relations practitioner Chris Scicluna.