Gibraltar Parliament

Coordinates: 36°08′27″N 5°21′14″W / 36.140775°N 5.353758°W / 36.140775; -5.353758

Gibraltar Parliament
2nd Gibraltar Parliament
Coat of arms of Gibraltar.svg
Type
Type
Leadership
Adolfo J. Canepa, GMH, OBE, MP [1] (non-affiliated)
Since 18 October 2012
Leader of The House
Structure
Seats 17
Parliament composition
Political groups


Government (10)

Opposition (7)

Elections
Last election
 26 November 2015
Next election
 2019
Meeting place
Parliament building
Parliament building, John Mackintosh Square, Gibraltar
Website
www.parliament.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.

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

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.[5] 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.[6]

Current membership

The 17 Members of the Gibraltar Parliament, as of the most recent election, are (ordered alphabetically):

CandidatePartyNotes
Balban, Paul JohnGSLP
Bossano, Joseph JohnGSLPFormer Chief Minister of Gibraltar (1988–1996) and former Leader of the GSLP (1978–2011)
Clinton, Roy MarkGSDInterim leader of GSD from July 6th 2017 to November 30th 2017 (succeeded by Keith Azopardi, who is not an MP)
Cortes, John EmmanuelGSLP
Costa, Neil FrancisGLP
Feetham, Daniel AnthonyGSDFormer leader of the GSD (2013-17)
Garcia, Joseph JohnGLPLeader of the GLP (since 1992) and current Deputy Chief Minister of Gibraltar (since 2011)
Hammond, Trevor NicholasGSD
Hassan Nahon, Marlene Dinah EstherINDDaughter of former Chief Minister of Gibraltar (1964–1969; 1972–1987), Sir Joshua Hassan
Isola, Albert*GSLP
Licudi, Gilbert HoraceGSLP
Linares, Steven ErnestGLP
Llamas, Lawrence FrancisGSDQuit the GSD on July 6, 2017 but returned on May 18, 2018[7]
Phillips, Elliott JohnGSDcurrent Parliamentary Leader of Opposition
Picardo, Fabian RaymondGSLPLeader of the GSLP and current Chief Minister of Gibraltar (since 2011)
Reyes, Edwin JosephGSD
Sacramento, Samantha JaneGSLP

*Albert Isola was elected at a by-election on 4 July 2013 after a seat had become vacant following the death of Charles Bruzon in April 2013.

Latest election

Summary of the 26 November 2015 Gibraltar Parliament election results

Party Votes % +/– Seats +/–
AllianceGibraltar Socialist Labour Party70,55147.83+13.6070
Liberal Party30,39920.61+5.9730
Gibraltar Social Democrats46,54531.56–15.2070
Total147,4951000170
Valid votes15,57894.56
Invalid/blank votes8975.44
Total votes cast16,475100
Registered voters/turnout23,27870.77
Source: Parliament of Gibraltar

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Composition of Parliament". Government of Gibraltar. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "Marlene Hassan Nahon Resigns from GSD". gbc.gi. Archived from the original on 22 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "GSD reacts to Marlene's resignation". gbc.gi. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "Now, GSD leader resigns". gibraltarpanorama.gi.
  5. ↑ Benady, Tito (1996). The Streets of Gibraltar. Gibraltar Books. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-948466-37-5.
  6. ↑ "The Gibraltar Parliament - Home". www.parliament.gi. Archived from the original on 22 December 2012.
  7. ↑ http://chronicle.gi/2018/05/gsd-takes-hard-but-necessary-decisions-to-reunify-party/
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