Nationalist candidate John Pillow has been elected to the Sliema local council to fill the seat vacated by former councillor Julian Galea who resigned after creating a stir for saying he had a phobia of Labourites.

Mr Pillow, who garnered 99 first-count votes during the March 10 election, inherited most votes when Mr Galea’s votes were opened during a by-election held yesterday.

Three other candidates who threw their names into the hat to replace Mr Galea were Antoinette Castaldi Paris, Nicholai Grech and Philip Andrew Ransley.

Mr Galea chose to resign before being sworn in as a councillor of the newly-constituted council after a recording of him saying he had a phobia of Labourites was released on the eve of the council elections.

During this conversation, he also claimed he paid Labourite employees less than their Nationalist co-workers, sparking an investigation by the Director of Employment and Industrial Relations.

The 30-year-old politician apologised for his remarks but did not pull out of the election and made it to the new council despite not reaching the quota. However, he had a change of heart and resigned five days after being elected and before he was officially sworn in.