The politics of the Falkland Islands takes place in a framework of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary representative democratic dependency as set out by the constitution, whereby the Governor exercises the duties of head of state in the absence of the monarch and the Chief Executive is the head of the Civil Service, with an elected Legislative Assembly to propose new laws, national policy, approve finance and hold the executive to account.
Mixed-member proportional representation is a mixed electoral system which combines local majoritarian elections with a compensatory tier of party list votes, which are used to allocate additional members in a way that aims to produce proportional representation overall. In most MMP systems, voters get two votes: one to decide the representative for their single-seat constituency, and one for a political party. Some countries use single vote variants of MMP, although this article focuses primarily on dual vote versions of MMP.
The Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands is the unicameral legislature of the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The Legislative Assembly replaced the Legislative Council when the new Constitution of the Falklands came into force in 2009 and laid out the composition, powers and procedures of the islands' legislature.
Electoral districts go by different names depending on the country and the office being elected.
Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results.
The Falkland Islands general election of 2009 was held on Thursday 5 November 2009 to elect members to the Legislative Assembly. It was the first general election in the Falkland Islands since the new constitution came into force on 1 January 2009, which replaced the old Legislative Council with the Legislative Assembly. Chief Executive Tim Thorogood acted as Returning Officer.
The Falkland Islands general election of 2005 was held on Thursday 17 November 2005 to elect members to the Legislative Council. It would be the last general election in the Falkland Islands before the new constitution came into force, which replaced the Legislative Council with the Legislative Assembly. Chief Executive Chris Simpkins acted as Returning Officer.
Michael Victor Summers is a Falkland Islands politician who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Stanley constituency from 2011 to 2017. He was previously a Member of the Legislative Council from 1996–2009.
Ian Hansen is a Falkland Islander farmer and politician who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Camp constituency after winning an uncontested by-election in 2011 which filled the seat vacated by Bill Luxton. Hansen had already served on the Legislative Assembly from 2003 until 2009. He was initially elected as a member of the Legislative Council, which was reconstituted into the Legislative Assembly with the implementation of the 2009 Constitution.
Barry Elsby is a British born, Falkland Islands doctor and politician, who has served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Stanley constituency since a by-election in 2011 which filled the seat vacated by Emma Edwards. He won re-election in 2013 and 2017.
The Falkland Islands general election of 2013 was held on Thursday 7 November 2013 to elect all eight members of the Legislative Assembly through universal suffrage using block voting, with each Stanley constituent having up to 5 votes and each Camp constituent having up to 3 votes. A total of 1,046 ballots were cast in Stanley, representing a turn-out of 75.4%, and 242 ballots in Camp, representing a turn-out of 85.5%. As no political parties are active in the Falklands, all the candidates stood as Independents. The Chief Executive of the Falkland Islands, Keith Padgett, acted as returning officer. It was the second election since the new Constitution came into force replacing the Legislative Council with the Legislative Assembly.
The Falkland Islands general election of 2017 was held on Thursday 9 November 2017 to elect all eight members of the Legislative Assembly through universal suffrage using block voting, with each Stanley constituent having up to 5 votes and each Camp constituent having up to 3 votes. Voter turnout was 80% in Stanley and 86% in Camp.
A referendum on reforming the voting system was held in the Falkland Islands on 3 November 2011. Voters were asked "Do you want a single constituency for the whole of the Islands?" The proposal required a two-thirds majority in both of the islands' constituencies, but was rejected by 58.78% of voters overall; in Stanley it was narrowly approved by 50.2% of voters but in Camp it was widely rejected, with 84% voting against. Turnout was 70% in Camp and just 39% in Stanley.
A referendum on political status was held in the Falkland Islands on 10–11 March 2013. The Falkland Islanders were asked whether or not they supported the continuation of their status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom in view of Argentina's call for negotiations on the islands' sovereignty.
Stanley is a constituency of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands which has been in existence since the first elections in the Falklands in 1949. The constituency of Stanley consists of the area that lies within 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) of the spire of Christ Church Cathedral. This covers the city of Stanley, which is the largest settlement in the Falklands representing almost 75% of the total population of the islands. Stanley is one of two constituencies in the Falklands, the other being Camp.
Camp is a constituency of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands which has been in existence since 1977. The constituency of Camp consists of all parts of the territory which lie more than 3.5 miles from the spire of Christ Church Cathedral, Stanley. It takes its name from the term "Camp", which refers to the territory outside the city of Stanley and RAF Mount Pleasant. Camp is one of two constituencies in the Falklands, the other being Stanley.
The Falkland Islands general election of 2021 was held on Thursday 4 November 2021 to elect all eight members of the Legislative Assembly through universal suffrage using block voting, with the Chief Executive of the Falkland Islands acting as returning officer. It was the fourth election since the new Constitution came into force replacing the Legislative Council with the Legislative Assembly.
Teslyn Siobhan Barkman is a Falkland Island journalist and politician who has served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Camp constituency since the 2017 general election. Prior to entering politics, she was a journalist for Penguin News.
A referendum on reforming the electoral system was held in the Falkland Islands on 24 September 2020, after being postponed from 26 March 2020 following the Coronavirus pandemic. Voters were asked if they wanted to replace the two existing electoral constituencies with a single constituency for the whole of the Islands. Although a majority of those who voted supported the change, the required two-thirds majority in both of the islands' constituencies was not achieved.
