Gibraltar Parliament

The Gibraltar Parliament is the legislature of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Between 1969 and 2006, it was called the Gibraltar House of Assembly.

Gibraltar Parliament
4th Gibraltar Parliament
Type
Type
Leadership
Melvyn Farrell (non-affiliated)
since 19 November 2019
Leader of The House
Leader of The Opposition
Structure
Seats17
Political groups

Government (10)

Opposition (7)

  •      GSD (6)
  •      TG (1)
Elections
Limited Bloc method
Last election
17 October 2019
Next election
on or before 28 February 2024
Meeting place
Parliament building, John Mackintosh Square, Gibraltar
Website
Parliament.gi
Gibraltar
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Functions

The House of Assembly, set up under the 1969 constitution, was a unicameral body originally consisting of 15 members elected by the Gibraltar electorate, plus two appointed members including the Attorney-General. The term "House of Assembly" has been commonly used for the legislatures of British territories that are less than fully sovereign. It was replaced by the current Gibraltar Parliament by the new 2006 constitution, reflecting an increase in its sovereignty. All 17 of the new Parliament's members are elected.

Under the election system, each voter was allowed to vote for ten members of the Assembly. Due to the small area of Gibraltar and its territorial continuity, precincts served only as polling places, not political units, and there are no electoral districts served by the members, who were instead elected "at large" to serve the territory as a whole.

The system lends itself to block voting – each of the parties or electoral coalitions tended to nominate a slate of ten candidates and encourage its supporters to vote for all of them. In most cases, the winning party or coalition would have all ten of its nominees elected, with the other seven elected members coming from the second-place party.

Parliament building
Chamber of the Parliament

The Parliament sits in a building overlooking Main Street and John Mackintosh Square. It was constructed in 1817 and previously served as the Exchange and Commercial Library. In 1951, the building was refurbished to host the Legislative Council.[1] Under the 1969 Constitution, the House of Assembly was established, superseding the Legislative Council. The first session of the House of Assembly was opened on 28 August 1969 by the then Governor, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Varyl Begg.[2]

Current membership

The 17 Members of the Gibraltar Parliament, as of the most recent election, are:

Candidate Party
Paul BalbanGSLP
Joseph BossanoGSLP
John CortesGSLP
Albert IsolaGSLP
Gilbert LicudiGSLP
Fabian PicardoGSLP
Samantha SacramentoGSLP
Vijay DaryananiLPG
Joseph GarciaLPG
Steven LinaresLPG
Keith AzopardiGSD
Damon BossinoGSD
Roy ClintonGSD
Daniel FeethamGSD
Elliott PhillipsGSD
Edwin ReyesGSD
Marlene Hassan NahonTG

Latest election

Summary of the 17 October 2019 Gibraltar Parliament election results

Party Votes % +/– Seats % +/–
Alliance Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party58,57637.00-10.8741.2±0
Liberal Party of Gibraltar24,54615.50-5.1317.6±0
Total Alliance83,12252.50-15.91058.8±0
Gibraltar Social Democrats40,45325.55-6.0635.3-1
Together Gibraltar32,45520.50+20.515.9+1
Independents2,2981.45+1.400.0±0
Total158,328100-17100-
Valid votes16,76797.85
Invalid/blank votes3682.15
Total votes cast17,135100
Registered voters/turnout24,18970.84
Source: Parliament of Gibraltar, Gibraltar Parliament General Election, Registered

See also

References
  1. Benady, Tito (1996). The Streets of Gibraltar. Gibraltar Books. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-948466-37-5.
  2. "The Gibraltar Parliament - Home". www.parliament.gi. Archived from the original on 22 December 2012.
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