Gibraltar Parliament

Gibraltar Parliament
Gibraltar Parliament
14th Gibraltar Parliament
Type
Type	Unicameral
Sovereign	Monarch of the United Kingdom
Established	1969
Leadership
Speaker	Karen Ramagge Prescott (non-affiliated) ; since 10 November 2023
Leader of The House	Fabian Picardo (Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party) ; since 9 December 2011
Leader of The Opposition	Keith Azopardi (Gibraltar Social Democrats) ; since 19 October 2019
Structure
Seats	17
Political groups	Government (9) GSLP (7); LPG (2); Opposition (8) GSD (8);
Elections
Voting system	Limited voting
Last election	12 October 2023
Next election	No later than 8 March 2028
Meeting place
	Parliament building, John Mackintosh Square, Gibraltar
Website
	Parliament.gi

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

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

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 2023 election, are:

Candidate		Party
	Fabian Picardo	GSLP
	Joseph Garcia	LPG
	Joseph Bossano	GSLP
	John Cortes	GSLP
	Patricia Orfila	GSLP
	Christian Santos	GSLP
	Gemma Arias-Vasquez	GSLP
	Nigel Feetham	GSLP
	Leslie Bruzon	LPG
	Keith Azopardi	GSD
	Edwin Reyes	GSD
	Roy Clinton	GSD
	Damon Bossino	GSD
	Craig Sacarello	GSD
	Giovanni Origo	GSD
	Atrish Sanchez	GSD
	Joelle Ladislaus	GSD

Latest election

Summary of the 12 October 2023 Gibraltar Parliament election results

Party			Votes	%	+/–	Seats	%	+/–
	Alliance	Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party	63.700	35.44	-1.56	7	41.2	±0
		Liberal Party of Gibraltar	26,241	14.60	-0.9	2	11.8	-1
		Total Alliance	83,122	50.04	-2.46	9	53.0	-1
	Gibraltar Social Democrats		86,537	48.15	+22.6	8	35.3	+2
	Together Gibraltar*		0	0	-20.55	0	0	-1
	Independents		3.262	1.81	+0.36	0	0.0	±0
Total			179,740	100	-	17	100	-

Valid votes			18,784	97.55
Invalid/blank votes			472	2.45
Total votes cast			19,256	100
Registered voters/turnout			25,200	76.41
Source: Parliament of Gibraltar Archived 18 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Gibraltar Parliament General Election Archived 8 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Registered									*Together Gibraltar did not contest 2023 Gibraltar general election.

References

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

External links

Official website

[1] Benady, Tito (1996). The Streets of Gibraltar. Gibraltar Books. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-948466-37-5.

[2] "The Gibraltar Parliament – Home". parliament.gi. Archived from the original on 22 December 2012.

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