The government is considering proposals to make local council elections 'less formal' with one of the measures being vote-counting in the localities, the Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue, Chris Said has said. The term of the councils may also be extended to four years, with elections being held every two years for one half of the councils.

Speaking in an interview with Kurt Sansone, Dr Said conceded that the consultation process on the utility tariffs could have been conducted in a better way, with more meetings with the social partners.

Reacting to criticism from the PN parliamentary group on lack of consultation prior to the nomination of the new President, Dr Said said consultation between the executive and the backbenchers is improving .

On the criminal proceedings against his brothers, Dr Said insisted that the judicial process has to take its course.

See excerpts from the interview in the video above.

Full text in today's The Sunday Times.