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House of Representatives of Malta

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House of Representatives

Kamra tad-Deputati
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Speaker of the House
Michael Frendo
since 10 May 2008
Structure
Seats69
Political groups
PN (35)
PL (34)
Elections
Last election
8 March 2008
Meeting place
Grandmaster's Palace, Valletta
Website
http://www.parlament.mt/
Politics of Malta
Republic
Government
Parliament
Judiciary
Political parties
Recent elections
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations

The House of Representatives (rendered as Kamra tad-Deputati in Maltese) is the unicameral legislature of Malta. Formally, the Parliament of Malta consists of the President of Malta and the House of Representatives.

The House is composed of an odd number of members (currently has 69) elected for a five year term. Ordinarily, five members are returned from each of thirteen electoral districts through single transferable vote but additional members are elected in cases of disproportionality (e.g. where party with an absolute majority of votes fails an absolute majority of seats and where only candidates from two parties are elected).

The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House. The President of Malta is appointed for a five year term by a resolution of the House.

Parliament building

Parliament is currently housed in the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta.

In 2010, works commenced to build a new Parliament. The government's original proposal had been to build Parliament on the site of the former opera house site in Valletta. This was shelved after the footprint was deemed too small and instead the new Parliament building will be built in Freedom Square. The building will be built to designs of Renzo Piano and is expected to be completed by the end of the current Parliamentary term, that is not later than 2013.[1]

Standing committees

The Standing Orders of the House provide for the creation of six Parliamentary Standing Committees to make parliamentary work more efficient and enhance Parliament's scrutiny functions. The Standing Committees are:

Latest elections

Main article: Maltese general election, 2008

Template:Maltese legislative election, 2008

Current composition (11th Legislature since independence)

For the Government: Nationalist Party

Cabinet

Ministers
Parliamentary Secretaries
  • Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, The Environment and Culture - Mario de Marco
  • Parliamentary Secretary for Consumers, Fair Competition, Local Councils and Public Dialogue - Chris Said
  • Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport - Clyde Puli
  • Parliamentary Secretary for Small business and Land - Jason Azzopardi
  • Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly and Community Care - Mario Galea

Parliamentary Assistants

  • Franco Debono - Parliamentary Assistant in the Office of the Prime Minister / Chairman Select Committee on re-codification and consolidaton of laws
  • Frederick Azzopardi - Parliamentary Assistant in the Ministry of Gozo / Deputy Whip for the Government/ Deputy Chairman of Committees
  • Charlò Bonnici - Parliamentary Assistant in the Ministry of Infrastructure
  • Philip Mifsud - Parliamentary Assistant in the Ministry of Resources and Rural Affairs
  • Stephen Spiteri - Parliamentary Assistant in the Ministry of Education
  • Robert Arrigo - Parliamentary Assistant in The Ministry of Finance
  • Beppe Fenech Adami - Parliamentary Assistant in the Ministry of Home Affairs
  • Peter Micallef - Parliamentary Assistant in the Ministry of Health
Chairmen of Parliamentary Standing and Select Committees
Heads of Delegation and Other Backbenchers

For the Opposition: Labour Party

Changes during the legislature

Casual elections

Following election from two districts

On 17 April 2008, casual elections were held in ten districts to fill twelve seats in the case of candidates who were returned from two districts.[3] The results were as follows:

Following vacancies arising

  • Shadow Minister for Health Karl Chircop passed away on October 12, 2008.[4] His vacated seat was filled through a casual election won by Gino Cauchi.
  • John Dalli resigned his post as Minister for Social Policy in order to take up his new role as European Commissioner for Health and Social Policy on 9 February 2010. His vacated seat was filled through a casual election won by Peter Micallef.

Co-options

  • Nationalist MP Michael Frendo has resigned from MP to take up the post of Speaker. Karl Gouder has been co-opted to the vacated seat.

Former Legislatures

References

  1. ^ Herman Grech, Ariadne Massa (2009-06-27). "City by a gentleman". timesofmalta.com. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  2. ^ "News Details". DI-VE. 2010-04-22. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  3. ^ "Department of Information". Doi.gov.mt. 2008-04-17. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  4. ^ "Articles". timesofmalta.com. 1997-07-26. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
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