2015 Gibraltar general election

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2015 Gibraltar general election
← 2011 26 November 2015 2019 →
17 seats to the Gibraltar Parliament
9 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
  Fabian Picardo in at 6 Convent Place 05.jpg Daniel Feetham votando en las elecciones generales de Gibraltar, 26 de noviembre de 2015.jpg
Leader Fabian Picardo Daniel Feetham
Party Socialist Labour Social Democrats
Alliance GSLP–Liberal -
Leader since 2011 2013
Last election 10 seats, 48.9%[1] 7 seats, 46.8%[1]
Seats won 10 7
Seat change Steady Steady
Popular vote 100,950 46,545
Percentage 68.4% 31.6%
Swing Increase19.6% Decrease15.2%
Gibraltar Parliament Dec 2011.svg
Chief Minister before election

Fabian Picardo
Socialist Labour

Elected Chief Minister

Fabian Picardo
Socialist Labour

The Gibraltar general election of 2015 to elect all 17 members to the 3rd Gibraltar Parliament took place on Thursday, 26 November 2015. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo announced the date of the election on Monday 19 October 2015 during a speech on the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation.[2]

Background[]

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.[3][4] 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.

Campaign[]

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.[5][6] However, ultimately they did not field any candidates. There were also no independents, the first occasion on which no independents or members of any party outside of Parliament contested the elections.

Opinion polls[]

A GBC public opinion poll of 17 November predicted 67% for GSLP/Libs and 33% for GSD.[7]

Results[]

The results saw the first occasion on which a party won over 100,000. 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.

Party[a] Votes[b] % +/– Seats % +/–
Alliance Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party 70,551 47.8 +13.6 7 41.2 ±0
Liberal Party of Gibraltar 30,399 20.6 +6.0 3 17.6 ±0
Total Alliance 100,950 68.4 +19.6 10 58.8 ±0
Gibraltar Social Democrats 46,545 31.6 -15.2 7 41.2 ±0
Total 147,495 100 - 17 100 -
Valid votes 15,578 94.6
Invalid/blank votes 897 5.4
Total votes cast 16,475 100
Registered voters/turnout 23,278 70.8
Source: Parliament of Gibraltar
  1. ^ The figures above have been consolidated by party. Under the Gibraltar electoral system, all candidates are listed on the ballot paper individually.
  2. ^ Every voter has up to 10 votes to vote for their choice from all the candidates standing. Accordingly, although there are more seats available, the main parties field 10 candidates and hope to secure 'block votes'. Thus the total of 147,495 votes comes from 16,475 voters, a 70.8% turnout of the electorate.

By candidate[]

Candidate Party Votes Notes
Fabian Picardo GSLP 10,852 Elected
Joseph Garcia LPG 10,661 Elected
John Cortes GSLP 10,529 Elected
Gilbert Licudi GSLP 10,379 Elected
Albert Isola GSLP 10,313 Elected
Neil Costa LPG 10,048 Elected
Samantha Sacramento GSLP 9,822 Elected
Steven Linares LPG 9,690 Elected
Paul Balban GSLP 9,511 Elected
Joseph Bossano GSLP 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
GSD 4,565 Elected
GSD 4,535
GSD 4,324
GSD 4,314
Source: Parliament of Gibraltar

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Oliva, Francis (9 December 2011). "Picardo Edges into Office with 2% Win". Gibraltar Chronicle. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  2. ^ "Gibraltar calls elections for November 26". AFP. Yahoo! News. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  3. ^ "Official text of the Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006" (PDF). gibraltarlaws.gov.gi. 14 December 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  4. ^ "Reporting of the Proceedings of the Gibraltar Parliament" (PDF). parliament.gi. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  5. ^ UKIP To Contest Gibraltar 2015 General Election YGTV, 19 August 2013
  6. ^ UKIP hopes to fight elections in Gibraltar Archived 11 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine Gibraltar Chronicle, 1 March 2014
  7. ^ Latest GBC opinion poll gives the GSLP Liberal Alliance big lead over the GSD Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation, 17 November 2015
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