Parliament of Malta

The House of Representatives ( paints: Kamra Tad - Deputati closely. House of Representatives ) is the parliament of the Republic of Malta. Currently in the capital city of Valletta, the House of Representatives shall meet in the Grand Master's Palace. In 2010, construction began on a new parliament building. It was originally planned to erect the building on the property was destroyed during World War II opera house of Valletta. After the plot proved to be too small, the construction is now on the adjacent Freedom Square, near the southern gate of the town. The construction is done according to the designs of the Italian architect Renzo Piano and is expected to be completed in 2013.

Composition

The Republic of Malta in accordance with Chapter VI of its Constitution on a unicameral parliament. The House of Representatives is composed of 65 regular members. By Bonus mandates the number may increase to 69 deputies.

For the current composition, see: List of Members of Parliament of Malta (12th Term).

Suffrage

The election of the House of Representatives takes place in 13 electoral districts, in each of which 5 seats are allocated.

The election in the electoral districts is based on proportional representation according to the method of the Transferable Einzelstimmgebung. After the elections of 1981, the conservative PN but not achieved an absolute majority of votes, a majority of seats, followed by a crisis in which refused the PN MPs to take their seats, as they the ruling Malta Labour Party, a specific manipulation of electoral boundaries accused. The constitutional crisis was finally ended by the introduction of a bonus rule that for the first time came in the elections in the year 1987 on the application: If a party across the country the majority of votes, but not win the majority of seats, they will receive four additional mandates to a government workable parliamentary majority to guarantee. The possibility of this bonus rule does not apply if a third party feeds into the House of Representatives, but virtually never occurs due to the two-party system.

The active and passive right to receive Maltese with the completion of the 18th year. Only citizens are allowed to participate in the elections to the House of Representatives who were resident for at least six months in the country in the twelve months prior to the election; the possibility of postal voting for living abroad Maltese citizens is not provided. This is justified by the fact that more Maltese lived abroad than in Malta, so that there was a danger that the voices of expatriate citizens be crucial for the formation of a government.

Speaker of the House

The President of Parliament (Speaker of the House ) were:

Paolo Pace, February, 1962 - February, 1966
Alfred Bonnici, April, 1966 - June, 1971
Emmanuel Attard Bezzina, June, 1971 - September, 1976
Nestu Laviera, September, 1976 - January, 1978
Kalcidon Agius, January, 1978 - February, 1982
Daniel Micallef, February, 1982 - July, 1986
Paul Xuereb, July, 1986 - February, 1987
Joseph M. Baldacchino, February 1987 - May 1987
Jimmy Farrugia, July, 1987 - October, 1988
Lawrence Gonzi, October, 1988 - September, 1996
Myriam Spiteri Debono, October, 1996 - August, 1998
Anton Tabone, October 1998 - May 2008
Louis Galea, May, 2008 - April, 2010
Michael Frendo, April, 2010 - present

1996

In the parliamentary elections of 1996 the Malta Labour Party won. Became Prime Minister Alfred Sant.

See also: List of Members of Parliament of Malta (8th Term)

1998

The pre-term parliamentary elections of September 5, 1998 won the Nationalist Party. Edward Fenech Adami was prime minister again. This was associated with the re- turn of Malta to the EU. A referendum on 8 March 2003 resulted in a majority ( 53.6 %) for the Maltese EU accession on 1 May 2004.

See also: List of Members of Parliament of Malta (9th election period )

2003

The elections to the 10th legislature were held on 12 April 2003. The trend of the EU referendum following, chose the Maltese with 51.79 percent conservative Partit Nazzionalista (PN) and with 47.51 percent socialist Malta Labour Party (MLP ). The third party, the green - alternative Alternattiva Demokratika (AD ) received 0.68 percent of the vote no seat in Parliament. The government of Prime Minister Edward Fenech Adami was thus confirmed. After Edward Fenech Adami stepped down as prime minister in March 2004 in order to run for the office of President of Malta may, Lawrence Gonzi was sworn in on 23 March 2004 as the new prime minister.

See also: List of Members of Parliament of Malta (10th Term)

2008

For the election on 8 March 2008 see parliamentary elections in Malta 2008.

2013

The last parliamentary election was held on March 9, 2013; previously Prime Minister Gonzi had dissolved parliament after the adoption of the draft budget on 10 December 2012 has been failed.