A unanimous no. From only female voices. The mayor of Santa Giusta, Antonello Figus , who, once elected last June, immediately appointed a mini-council with two assessors, has consistently stated in recent months that he needed to evaluate matters before assigning the other responsibilities. In reality, however, he was on the hunt for a second female representative.
The decree.What happened is no mystery. The search for a second woman to join the council, which ultimately came to nothing, is stated in decree number 15: six applications were rejected. This circumstance then led the mayor to appoint Nicola Delogu and Sandro Manca as councilors. The former will handle Social Policies and Innovation, while Manca will handle Productive Activities and Commerce. "Having established the impossibility of appointing a female, and noting that the female gender was already represented by Councilor Caria, the Municipality proceeded with the other two appointments in order to ensure the principle of respecting the democratic will of the voters and following the order of the highest individual voter vote," the decree states. Matteo Garau and Maria Gabriella Caria also serve on the council.
Not me.The first to decline the position was elected councilor Anna Lisa Garau. "The reasons are private," she explains, "I'm still carrying out my role as city councilor." The invitation was then extended to unelected candidates Angela Maria Loi and Claudia Casu. "Becoming a councilor wasn't my intention," Casu explains. "Then in recent months, given my non-election, I've been studying, which has allowed me to pursue a specialization. So I'll be very busy." Figus then tried external candidates. He offered the councilorship to Sandra Pili, Valentina Casula, and Serena Meli, but all three declined. Valentina Casula, Figus's former councilor for a month before completing her last term: "I thank the mayor for the offer, but due to family issues, I couldn't continue in this role. That's why I declined. Also because otherwise I would have run."
The consequences.Mayor Figus: "The gender quota is in place; our municipality only needs one female councilor. I would have liked two, but all the women I contacted, with expertise in various fields and professions, refused. Each has her own reasons. I'm sorry, but I couldn't wait any longer. The team needed to be complete due to the amount of work to be done."
Federico Salaris, leader of the minority group : "For a municipality with over 3,000 inhabitants, the law requires that neither gender be represented less than 40%. With four councilors, the presence of a single woman represents 25%, so the required quota is not met. We acknowledge the exemptions indicated in the decree, but we believe that respecting gender equality requires a particularly rigorous investigation and concrete proof of the actual impossibility of identifying a second female member. As a minority, we will ensure that the principles of equality are effectively guaranteed."
