Gibraltar Parliament

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

Gibraltar Parliament
14th Gibraltar Parliament
Coat of arms of Gibraltar
Type
Type
SovereignMonarch of the United Kingdom
Established1969
Leadership
Karen Ramagge Prescott (non-affiliated)
since 10 November 2023
Leader of The House
Leader of The Opposition
Structure
Seats17
Political groups
Government (9)
  •   GSLP (7)
  •   LPG (2)

Opposition (8)

Elections
Limited voting
Last election
12 October 2023
Next election
No later than 8 March 2028
Meeting place
Parliament building
Parliament building, John Mackintosh Square, Gibraltar
Website
Parliament.gi

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Summary of the 12 October 2023 Gibraltar Parliament election results

Party Votes % +/– Seats % +/–
Alliance Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party 58,576 37.00 -10.8 7 49.9 ±0
Liberal Party of Gibraltar 24,546 15.50 -5.1 2 17.6 ±0
Total Alliance 83,122 52.50 -15.9 10 58.8 ±0
Gibraltar Social Democrats 40,453 25.55 -6.0 6 35.3 -1
Together Gibraltar* 0 0 0 0 0 0
Independents 2,298 1.45 +1.4 0 0.0 ±0
Total 158,328 100 - 17 100 -
Valid votes 16,767 97.85
Invalid/blank votes 368 2.15
Total votes cast 17,135 100
Registered voters/turnout 24,189 70.84
Source: Parliament of Gibraltar Archived 18 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Gibraltar Parliament General Election, Registered *Together Gibraltar did not contest 2023 Gibraltar general election.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  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.

External links[edit]