House of Representatives of Malta

House of Representatives Kamra tad-Deputati
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker of the House	Michael Frendo since 29 April 2010
Members	69
Political groups	PN (35) PL (34)
Elections
Last election	8 March 2008
Meeting place
Grandmaster's Palace, Valletta
Website
http://www.parlament.mt/

Malta

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Malta

Republic President (List) George Abela Constitution Government Prime Minister (List) Lawrence Gonzi Deputy Prime Minister (List) Tonio Borg Finance Minister (List) Tonio Fenech The Cabinet Parliament House of Representatives Speaker (List) Michael Frendo Deputy Speaker (List) Censu Galea Leader of the House (List) Tonio Borg Leader of the Opposition (List) Joseph Muscat Judiciary Chief Justice (List) Silvio Camilleri Law Courts and Tribunals Administration of Justice Political parties Nationalist Party Labour Party Democratic Alternative Imperium Europa Elections 1870 Referendum 1921 Legislative 1924 Legislative 1927 Legislative 1932 Legislative 1945 Legislative 1947 Legislative 1950 Legislative 1951 Legislative 1953 Legislative 1955 Legislative 1956 Referendum 1962 Legislative 1964 Referendum 1966 Legislative 1971 Legislative 1973 Referendum 1976 Legislative 1981 Legislative 1987 Legislative 1992 Legislative 1996 Legislative 1998 Legislative 2003 Referendum 2003 Legislative 2004 European 2008 Legislative 2009 European 2011 Referendum Subdivisions Local councils Districts Foreign policy Politics of the European Union Foreign relations

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The House of Representatives (rendered as Kamra tad-Deputati in Maltese) is the unicameral legislature of Malta and a component of the Parliament of Malta.

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.

Meeting Place

The House is currently housed in the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta.

In 2010, works commenced to build a new Parliamentary building. 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]

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:

• Standing Committee on House Business
• Standing Committee on Privileges
• Standing Committee on Public Accounts
• Standing Committee on Foreign and European Affairs
• Standing Committee on Social Affairs
• Standing Committee on Consideration of Bills

There are also select committees and non-official committees.

Latest elections

Main article: Maltese general election, 2008

e • d Summary of the 8 March 2008 House of Representatives of Malta election results

Parties	Votes	%	Change	Seats	Change
Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista)	143,468	49.34	–2.5	35	±0
Malta Labour Party (Partit Laburista)	141,888	48.79	+0.8	34	+4
Democratic Alternative (Alternattiva Demokratika)	3,810	1.31	+0.6	—	—
National Action (Azzjoni Nazzjonali)	1,461	0.50	+0.0	—	—
Imperium Europa	84	0.03	+0.0	—	—
Gozitan Party (Partit Għawdxi)	37	0.01	+0.0	—	—
Independents (Indipendenti)	22	0.01	+0.0	—	—
Alpha Liberal Democrats (Alfa Liberali Demokratiku)	21	0.01	+0.0	—	—
Forward Malta (Forza Malta)	8	0.00	+0.0	—	—
Total (turnout 93.3%)	290,799	100.0		69	+4
Source: DOI

References

1. ^ Herman Grech, Ariadne Massa (2009-06-27). "City by a gentleman". timesofmalta.com. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090628/local/city-by-a-gentleman. Retrieved 2010-11-14. 

External links

• Maltese parliament website