Gibraltar Parliament
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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.
This unicameral body consisted of fifteen members elected by vote of the Gibraltar electorate. The now obsolete House of Assembly also contained two appointed members, including the Attorney-General. This body was mandated by Gibraltar's 1969 constitution. The term "House of Assembly" has been commonly used for the legislatures of British territories that are less than fully sovereign. Its replacement institution being called a parliament reflects the increased autonomy that Gibraltar has gained with its new 2006 constitution.
Under the election system, each voter was allowed to vote for eight 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 eight candidates and encourage its supporters to vote for all of them. In most cases, the winning party would have all eight of its nominees elected, with the other seven elected members coming from the second-place party.
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. It was opened on 28 August 1969 by the then Governor Admiral Varyl Begg [1]
Contents |
[edit] Latest election
| Parties1 | Votes2 | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibraltar Social Democrats | 76,334 | 49.33 | 10 | |
| Coalition | Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party | 49,277 | 31.84 | 4 |
| Gibraltar Liberal Party | 21,120 | 13.65 | 3 | |
| Progressive Democratic Party | 5,799 | 3.75 | — | |
| Charles Gomez (independent, New Gibraltar Democracy) | 1,210 | 0.78 | — | |
| Richard Martinez (independent) | 1,003 | 0.65 | — | |
| Total (turnout 81.4%) | 154,743 | 100.00 | 17 | |
| Source: Gibfocus
1 These figures have been consolidated by party. Under the Gibraltar electoral system, all candidates are listed on the ballot paper individually. 2 Every voter has up to 10 votes to vote for their choice from all the candidates standing. Accordingly although there are more seats available, the main parties field 10 candidates and hope to secure 'block votes'. Thus the total of 154,743 votes comes from 16,004 voters, an 81.4% turnout of the electorate. |
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Draft government legislation replacing references to "House of Assembly" with "Gibraltar Parliament"
- Gibraltar Parliament Homepage (out of date)
- Vox article on new Parliament
