Parliament of Malta
| Parliament of Malta Parlament ta' Malta | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type |
Unicameral |
| Houses | House of Representatives |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 69 |
 | |
Political groups |
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| Elections | |
| Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 9 March 2013 |
Next election | 2018 or earlier |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Grandmaster's Palace, Valletta | |
| Website | |
| http://www.parlament.mt/ | |
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The Parliament of Malta is the constitutional legislative body in Malta, located in Valletta. The parliament is unicameral, with a democratically elected House of Representatives and the President of Malta. By Constitutional law, all government ministers, including the Prime Minister, must be members of the House of Representatives.
Between 1921 and 1933 the Parliament was bicameral, consisting of a Senate as well as a Legislative Assembly.
House of Representatives of Malta
The House of Representatives (rendered as Kamra tad-Deputati in Maltese) is the unicameral legislature of Malta and a component of the Parliament of Malta. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House. The President of Malta is appointed for a five-year term by a resolution of the House.
Composition
The House is composed of an odd number of members elected for one legislative term of five years. Ordinarily, five members are returned from each of thirteen electoral districts through single transferable vote but additional members are elected in cases of disproportionality (where party with an absolute majority of votes fails an absolute majority of seats and where only candidates from two parties are elected).
Meeting place
The Kamra tad-Deputati is currently housed in the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta.
In 2010, works commenced to build a new Parliamentary building. The government's original proposal had been to build Parliament on the site of the former opera house in Valletta. This was shelved after the footprint was deemed too small and instead the new Parliament building will be built in Freedom Square. The building was designed by Renzo Piano and was expected to be completed not later than 2013, although as of 2014 it is still under construction.[1]
Committees
The Standing Orders of the House provide for the creation of eight Parliamentary Standing Committees to make parliamentary work more efficient and enhance Parliament's scrutiny functions. The Standing Committees are:
- Standing Committee on House Business
- Standing Committee on Privileges
- Standing Committee on Public Accounts
- Standing Committee on Foreign and European Affairs
- Standing Committee on Social Affairs
- Standing Committee on Consideration of Bills
- Standing Committee on Family Affairs
- Standing Committee on Economic and Financial Affairs
Other Standing Committees constituted by other statutes include:
- Standing Committee on Environment and Development Planning
- National Audit Office Accounts Committee
There are also select committees and non-official committees.
Latest elections
| Parties | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | 167,533 | 54.83 | +6.04 | 39 | +5 | |
| Nationalist Party | 132,426 | 43.34 | –6.00 | 30 | –5 | |
| Democratic Alternative | 5,506 | 1.80 | +0.49 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ajkla Party | 47 | 0.02 | New | 0 | New | |
| Liberal Alliance | 12 | 0.00 | New | 0 | New | |
| Independents | 32 | 0.01 | +0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | 4,044 | — | — | — | — | |
| Total | 309,600 | 100.0 | – | 69 | 0 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 330,072 | 93.8 | – | – | – | |
| Source: Government of Malta, Parliament of Malta | ||||||
Members
- List of members of the parliament of Malta, 1998–2003
- List of members of the parliament of Malta, 2003–2008
- List of members of the parliament of Malta, 2008–2013
- List of members of the parliament of Malta, 2013–
References
- ↑ Herman Grech, Ariadne Massa (2009-06-27). "City by a gentleman". timesofmalta.com. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
External links
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