Gibraltar Parliament

Gibraltar Parliament
1st Gibraltar Parliament
Type
Type Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker Haresh K. Budhrani, QC, (Non-affiliated)
since 11 October 2007
Leader of The House Fabian Picardo, (Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party)
since 9 December 2011
Structure
Members 17 Members of Parliament (MPs)
Political groups Gibraltar Social Democrats, Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party, Gibraltar Liberal Party
Elections
Last election 8 December 2011
Meeting place
Parliament Building, John Mackintosh Square, Gibraltar
Website
Gibraltar.gov.gi
Gibraltar

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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.

Contents

Functions

This unicameral body consisted of fifteen members elected by vote of the Gibraltar electorate. The now obsolete House of Assembly also contained two appointed members, including the Attorney-General. This body was mandated by Gibraltar's 1969 constitution. The term "House of Assembly" has been commonly used for the legislatures of British territories that are less than fully sovereign. Its replacement institution being called a parliament reflects the increased autonomy that Gibraltar has gained with its new 2006 constitution.

Under the election system, each voter was allowed to vote for eight 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 eight candidates and encourage its supporters to vote for all of them. In most cases, the winning party would have all eight of its nominees elected, with the other seven elected members coming from the second-place party.

Parliament Building

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 Varyl Begg[2]

Current membership

The members of the first Gibraltar Parliament, ordered alphabetically, are:

Latest election

e • d Summary of the 8 December 2011 Gibraltar Parliament election results
Parties1 Votes2 % Seats
Alliance Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party 59,824 34.23 7
Gibraltar Liberal Party 25,590 14.65 3
Gibraltar Social Democrats 81,721 46.76 7
Progressive Democratic Party 7,622 4.36 —
Total (turnout 81.4%) 174,757 100.00 17
Source: Government of Gibraltar

1 These figures have been consolidated by party. Under the Gibraltar electoral system, all candidates are listed on the ballot paper individually.
2 Every voter has up to 10 votes to vote for their choice from all the candidates standing. Accordingly although there are more seats available, the main parties field 10 candidates and hope to secure 'block votes'. Thus the total of 174,757 votes comes from 21,712 voters, an 81.4% turnout of the electorate.

See also

References

  1. ^ Benady, Tito (1996). The Streets of Gibraltar. Gibraltar Books. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-948466-37-5. 
  2. ^ Government of Gibraltar – The Gibraltar Parliament

External links