WINNIPEG -- The mayor of St. Andrews, Man. Joy Sul wants the provincial government to intervene after she was stripped of key powers on Monday.

“I won a landslide victory, how can five people make a decision to remove you?” asked Sul.

Five councillors voted in a packed special council meeting to remove her as council chair and municipal spokesperson, roles typically held by mayor. Sul is asking the Manitoba government to review the Municipal Act. “I truly believe the province has to step in.”

The province said it is monitoring the situation. “Municipal councils act as a body and are collectively responsible for the governance of their municipality, as well as the conduct of their own meetings and other internal affairs,” said a spokesperson for the Manitoba government.

Deputy Mayor of St. Andrews John Preun, who was chosen as the new chair of council, said the change was necessary because “the mayor wasn’t acting in the best interest of the residents, just a vocal few.”

St. Andrews resident Lou Morisette supports Sul and has reached out to the province. “Dec. 16, 2019, was a new low for democracy in Manitoba,” he wrote in the email to Premier Brian Pallister and several members of the Manitoba Legislature. Morisette said the dispute is “part of a disturbing pattern” he has witnessed for the past year. He said the five male councillors consistently vote against the two female members of council. Last summer, Morisette filed a complaint with the ombudsman over the mayor’s removal from a planning committee.

Preun denies the power struggle playing out on council has anything to do with sexism. “The five to two vote has nothing to do with gender discrimination. It has to do with a difference of opinion.”

The Association of Manitoba Municipalities says it has been contacted by several residents in St. Andrews. “The AMM is aware of the situation in the RM of St. Andrews. Naturally, we encourage all Council members from all municipalities to work together cooperatively, and thus we will be monitoring developments in this particular situation very closely. “

Preun said, as chair, he wants to “take the antagonistic atmosphere out” of council and to “get to the business of St. Andrews.”

But Sul and her supporters say they are frustrated by what some in the community are calling a coup.“Basically, my power has been taken away and that is totally against what an election is for,” said the mayor.