Parliament to meet on May 10
Parliament is to reconvene on May 10, the Cabinet decided this morning.
In terms of the Constitution, Parliament has to meet within two months of the presentation of the official results of the general election to the President.
This will be the 11th Parliament since Independence.
At its first sitting the House elects the Speaker and the President will then deliver an address in which he outlines the government's plans for the legislature.
The House on the following days will debate a motion to thank the President for his address. The debate is usually opened by the youngest MP on the government benches.
The new Parliament will be composed of 69 MPs, with the government having a majority of one. The Electoral Commission earlier today issued a call for nominations for casual elections to fill 12 seats vacated by candidates elected from two divisions on March 8. The elections are expected to be held in the middle of next week.
The government is expected to shortly have talks with the opposition on the nomination of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. It has become the practice for the Deputy Speaker to come from the Opposition benches, but in view of the government's narrow majority, the Speaker will this time have to be appointed from outside the House.
In the last legislature the government had a five seat majority and the Speaker, Anton Tabone, was a serving MP. He remains Speaker until his successor is sworn in.
Popular Stories
Update 3: Woman found dead in car,...
Updated: Woman dies in car crash
Part of Dwejra 'Azure window' collapses
Updated: Shot migrant in critical...
The end of the bar that ‘never closed’
Bundy does not know whether to...
This WAS the night - Kurt makes it...
Yana Mintoff: Family speaking to...
Petrol price up 6c
In Discussion
6 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
C. Micallef
Apr 9th 2008, 07:07
Mr. Sultana, Faith is a supernatural gift of God which enables us to believe what ever God has revealed.
James Sultana
Apr 8th 2008, 04:45
If the church can be considered the wisest because it chose it`s leaders which are appropriate for the current times, then one has to look again and reconsider all these "cries" for MLP to allow all its paid members to chose the leader rather than just the delegates.
This is because while the TWO parties use a system whereby the paid members get to chose the delegates and the delegates get to chose to leaders, the church is much less democratic as the archbishop and bishop are chosen by a selected group of people who are asked by the Holy See to give their opinion on a number of priests after these priests had been shortlisted as possible replacements.
So which system works best to chose a leader ? That used by both parties up till now, where delegates chosen by members chose the leader, that being suggested to the MLP where all paid members are allowed to vote, or that use dby the church where a small handful of priests give their opinion and the Holy See choses ?
frank grech
Apr 7th 2008, 23:18
It's great to be a member of parliament.
One long vacation after another!!!!
And do we really need 69 members?
SIlvan Cutajar
Apr 7th 2008, 21:37
Hopefully shortly after Parliament convenes there will be a fresh and new opposition under a new leadership. The changes needed are very important for Labour to regain grounds and bring in new supporters in its ranks. For heaven's sake such reform and new beginning is also needed in various other institutions namely the GWU and other organisations that badly need a fresh face and fresh message. Perhaps the wisest organisation in Malta has been the church in selecting leaders that seem to be appropriate in the current times.
E. Anastasi
Apr 7th 2008, 18:10
We hope that both parties in Parliament will move forward and work together in the legislative field. It does not do any good for the Government to take decisions prematurely and without debate and neither does it auger well for the Opposition to constantly bicker about everything the Government did or does just for the sake of opposing.
We also hope that the Government gives the Opposition a wider voice in Parliament this due to the outcome of the wafer-thin difference between one party and the other in the general elections.
It would be a great democratic message to the people and a show of progression.
C. attard
Apr 7th 2008, 17:26
we wait for MLP leader.... then the show in the parlament will start!