The Labour Party declared yesterday it could not back its own mayor in Fgura who today faces a vote of no confidence.

Councillors meet this evening to discuss a motion of no confidence submitted by PL councillors against mayor Darren Marmarà over what they term as "lack of serenity" within the council.

The motion was presented by former Labour mayor Anthony Degiovanni and councillors Saviour Camilleri, Rita Cutajar, Byron Camilleri and Pierre Dalli. Mr Dalli's nephew, Byron Camilleri, is being nominated as the next mayor.

The PL said that after Mr Marmarà refused to resign, it was left with no other option but to back the no confidence motion. This was being done for valid reasons in the interest of the locality. It did not say what the reasons were.

Even the man chosen to take Mr Marmarà's seat would not elaborate on these reasons. Mr Camilleri said in a curt reply that the motion of no confidence in Mr Marmarà "spoke for itself".

"The Labour councillors are adamant on giving the Fgura people the kind of diligent and transparent council they deserve. We will work together as a team to make up for lost time. The Labour Party is on record saying it supports the motion. We have nothing to add," he said.

The Nationalist Party harped on this point last night, saying Labour should be transparent about the matter. It said the PL indicated that it had information about misbehaviour by the mayor and it should therefore make it public so the authorities could investigate.

"Rather than hiding such misbehaviour, the PL should report it and have it investigated," the party said, stressing the public's interest in having this information.

An €80,000 asphalting contract awarded without a formal tender having been issued has been mentioned in connection with this case.

Mr Marmarà insisted the job involved the continuation of a project carried out in the previous legislature. "This work was agreed during a council meeting. I can assure you there is no fraud in it and the (Local Government) Department knows about it as well," he said.

Local Government Department director general Martin Bugelli confirmed the Fgura council was not being investigated. "Fgura local council is not, at the moment, under any investigation by my department," he said when contacted.

Mr Marmarà said this was a "bad moment" in his political career but would not say if he felt the motion of no confidence was due to a power struggle or because of his leadership style.

"I am not sure how to answer your question. I believe that both (hunger for power and the leadership style) are wrong motivations because I am always open to work with anybody in good faith. On the other hand, if the motion is approved, the new mayor will not be democratically elected," he said.

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