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All 17 seats in the Gibraltar Parliament 9 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General elections were held in Gibraltar on 26 November 2015 to elect all 17 members to the third Gibraltar Parliament. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo announced the date of the election on Monday 19 October 2015 during a speech on the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation. [1]
Under section 38(2) of the Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006, the parliament must be dissolved by the Governor four years after its first meeting following the last election (unless the Chief Minister advises the Governor to dissolve parliament sooner). Under section 37 of the Constitution, writs for a general election must be issued within thirty days of the dissolution and the general election must then be held no later than three months after the issuing of a writ. [2] [3] In October 2015, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo announced that the election would take place on 26 November. Following the British tradition, elections in Gibraltar conventionally take place on a Thursday.
The UK-based UK Independence Party announced in 2014 that it was planning on fielding candidates for the first time in Gibraltar's next general election. [4] [5] However, ultimately they did not field any candidates. There were also no independents.
| Party or alliance | Slogan | |
|---|---|---|
| GSLP/Libs Alliance | "The Strongest Foundations For Your Future" | |
| GSD | "Forward Together" | |
A GBC public opinion poll of 17 November predicted 67% for GSLP/Libs and 33% for GSD. [6]
The results saw the first occasion on which a party received over 100,000 votes. Both the GSLP and LPG received more votes in the elections than in any other previous general elections, with the LPG receiving the highest percentage of votes in its history. Contrastingly, the GSD saw the largest drop in its vote share in its history. Voter turnout (70.77%) was the lowest since 1980.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party or alliance | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |||
| Alliance | Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party | 70,551 | 47.83 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Liberal Party of Gibraltar | 30,399 | 20.61 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 100,950 | 68.44 | 10 | 0 | |||
| Gibraltar Social Democrats | 46,545 | 31.56 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Total | 147,495 | 100.00 | 17 | 0 | |||
| Valid votes | 15,578 | 94.56 | |||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 897 | 5.44 | |||||
| Total votes | 16,475 | 100.00 | |||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 23,278 | 70.77 | |||||
| Source: Parliament of Gibraltar | |||||||
| Candidate | Party | Alliance | Votes | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabian Picardo | GSLP | GSLP–Liberal Alliance | 10,852 | Elected | |
| Joseph Garcia | LPG | GSLP–Liberal Alliance | 10,661 | Elected | |
| John Cortes | GSLP | GSLP–Liberal Alliance | 10,529 | Elected | |
| Gilbert Licudi | GSLP | GSLP–Liberal Alliance | 10,379 | Elected | |
| Albert Isola | GSLP | GSLP–Liberal Alliance | 10,313 | Elected | |
| Neil Costa | LPG | GSLP–Liberal Alliance | 10,048 | Elected | |
| Samantha Sacramento | GSLP | GSLP–Liberal Alliance | 9,822 | Elected | |
| Steven Linares | LPG | GSLP–Liberal Alliance | 9,690 | Elected | |
| Paul Balban | GSLP | GSLP–Liberal Alliance | 9,511 | Elected | |
| Joseph Bossano | GSLP | GSLP–Liberal Alliance | 9,145 | Elected | |
| Daniel Feetham | GSD | - | 5,054 | Elected | |
| Marlene Hassan Nahon | GSD | - | 4,892 | Elected | |
| Elliott Phillips | GSD | - | 4,784 | Elected | |
| Edwin Reyes | GSD | - | 4,766 | Elected | |
| Roy Clinton | GSD | - | 4,733 | Elected | |
| Trevor Hammond | GSD | - | 4,578 | Elected | |
| Lawrence Llamas | GSD | - | 4,565 | Elected | |
| Robert Vasquez | GSD | - | 4,535 | ||
| Christopher White | GSD | - | 4,324 | ||
| Kim Karnani-Santos | GSD | - | 4,314 | ||
| Source: Parliament of Gibraltar | |||||
The Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) is a liberal-conservative, centre-right political party in Gibraltar. The GSD was the governing party for four successive terms in office under the leadership of Peter Caruana, from the 1996 general election until the party's electoral defeat in the 2011 election by the GSLP–Liberal Alliance.
The Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP) is a social-democratic political party in Gibraltar. The GSLP is the oldest surviving active political party in Gibraltar. Its roots are based in the trade union movement, as its founder and former leader Joe Bossano was the District Officer of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU). The party has been led since 2011 by Fabian Picardo, who has served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar since the 2011 general election. The GSLP forms the GSLP–Liberal Alliance in partnership with the Liberal Party of Gibraltar.
Gibraltar elects on the national level a legislature. The Gibraltar Parliament has 17 members, all elected for a four-year term in one constituency with each voter getting to vote for their selection of ten candidates. Gibraltar forms a single constituency but voters have only ten votes. Hence the electoral bloc with the most votes will normally get ten seats and the runners up seven.
Sir Joseph John Bossano is a Gibraltarian politician who served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 1988 to 1996 and Leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party from 1978 to 2011. He served as Leader of the Opposition from 1984 to 1988 and 1996 to 2011.
Joseph John Andrew Garcia is a Gibraltarian historian and politician, and the current leader of the Liberal Party of Gibraltar (LPG) and Deputy Chief Minister of the Government of Gibraltar. The LPG holds two of the 17 seats in the Gibraltar Parliament after the 2023 general election and is in government with its political allies, the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP).
General elections were held in Gibraltar on 11 October 2007. The incumbent Chief Minister Peter Caruana narrowly won a fourth term, but opposition leader Joe Bossano had a very strong showing. Joe Bossano noted that this would be his last term as an MP, and joked that he would not join the government, despite receiving a higher personal vote than some members of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD).
Keith Azopardi is a Gibraltarian lawyer and politician serving as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Gibraltar Social Democrats since 2017.
Fabian Raymond Picardo is a Gibraltarian politician and barrister, serving as Chief Minister of Gibraltar and Leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party since 2011. At the 2015 and 2019 Gibraltar general elections, Picardo was re-elected to two further four-year terms. He was narrowly re-elected for a fourth term in the 2023 Gibraltar general election.
Neil Francis Costa is a Gibraltarian barrister and politician affiliated to the Liberal Party of Gibraltar (LPG). In December 2011 he was elected an MP to the Gibraltar Parliament and was elected Minister for Tourism, Public Transport, Commercial Affairs and the Port. After the Ministerial reshuffle of December 2014, he became Minister for Business and Employment. In October 2016, he was appointed Minister for Health, Care and Justice. In October 2019, Costa confirmed his decision that he would not seek re-election and returned to work as a barrister.
The Hon. Paul John Balban is a former Gibraltarian politician, State Registered Dietitian and former taxi driver. He was first elected to the Gibraltar Parliament at the 2011 general elections and was a Gibraltar Government Minister until 12 October 2023, member of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP). He is married and has three daughters. On 15 September 2023, he announced that he and fellow party MPs and Ministers, Albert Isola and Samantha Sacramento, would not stand for re-election.
The Hon. Damon James Bossino, MP, is a Gibraltarian barrister and Member of the Gibraltar Parliament representing the Gibraltar Social Democrats. He is married to Rosa Arrimadas from Spain with whom he has three children.
A by-election was held to the Gibraltar Parliament on 4 July 2013 to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Housing Minister Charles Bruzon in April 2013. The Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP), Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD), Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and an independent contested the by-election. The Liberal Party of Gibraltar who is in alliance and in Government with the GSLP backed the GSLP's candidate.
The Hon. Albert J. Isola TEP is a Gibraltarian barrister and former politician, member of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP). He was a member of the Gibraltar House of Assembly as part of the Opposition between 1996 and 2000. He later became a Government Minister for Financial Services and Gaming after becoming elected to Parliament in the 2013 by-election. Isola is married and has four children. On 15 September 2023, it was announced that he and fellow party MPs and Ministers, Paul Balban and Samantha Sacramento, would not stand for re-election.
European Parliament elections were held in Gibraltar. 23 May 2019 as part of the EU-wide elections after the date of EU withdrawal was delayed by the UK Government.
General elections were held in Gibraltar on 17 October 2019 to elect all 17 members to the fourth Gibraltar Parliament. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo announced the date of the election on Monday 16 September 2019. On September 2019, it was announced that Libs MP and GSLP/Libs Minister, Neil Costa, would not seek re-election and had his candidacy and seat replaced by Vijay Daryanani of the same party.
The GSLP–Liberal Alliance is a centre-left political alliance active in Gibraltar consisting of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP) and Liberal Party of Gibraltar (LPG).
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Gibraltar since 15 December 2016. A bill for the legalisation of same-sex marriages was approved by the Parliament on 26 October 2016 and received royal assent on 1 November 2016. Gibraltar has also allowed civil partnerships since 28 March 2014.
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019, also known as the Repeal Bill is an Act of the Gibraltar Parliament announced by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, that transposed directly-applicable European Union law into the law of Gibraltar as part of the UK's exit from the European Union (Brexit). It has the same effect as the similarly named European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 in the UK.
General elections were held in Gibraltar on 12 October 2023 to elect all 17 members of the fifth Gibraltar Parliament. This was the first election in Gibraltar's history to use an electronic voting count system. The GSLP–Liberal Alliance secured a fourth term in office, though it saw its majority reduced to one seat, whilst the GSD became the sole opposition party, gaining two seats.
A referendum on partially legalising abortion was held in Gibraltar on 24 June 2021. It had originally been scheduled for 19 March 2020, but was postponed on 12 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal was approved by 63% of voters.
