Gibraltar Parliament

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

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

Politics of Gibraltar
Constitution Constitution Order 1950 Constitution Order 1964 Constitution Order 1969 Constitution Order 2006 European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019
The Crown Monarch Charles III
Government Governor David Steel Chief Minister Fabian Picardo Council of Ministers
Legislature Speaker Adolfo J. Canepa Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition
Judiciary Judiciary of Gibraltar Law of Gibraltar
Elections Elections Political parties Politicians Last election Next election
Other Disputed status of Gibraltar Sovereignty referendum, 1967 Sovereignty referendum, 2002 Gibraltar and Brexit Disputed status of the isthmus History of nationality Gibraltar passport Gibraltar identity card Visa policy Political development in modern Gibraltar
Gibraltar portal Other countries
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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.^[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:

Latest election

Summary of the 12 October 2023 Gibraltar Parliament election results

See also

• Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006
• 2006 Gibraltarian constitutional referendum
• Speaker of the Gibraltar Parliament

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gibraltar Parliament.