The Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands is the

unicameral legislature Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

of the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

. The Legislative Assembly replaced the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

(which had existed since 1845) when the new Constitution of the Falklands came into force in 2009 and laid out the composition, powers and procedures of the islands' legislature. The Legislative Assembly consists of eight elected members, three ''ex officio'' members (the

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, the Director of Finance and the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

), and the

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. Although they take part in proceedings, the ''ex officio'' members do not have the right to vote in the Legislative Assembly. The Commander British Forces also has the right to take part in the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, though again they may not vote.

Powers and role

Meetings of the Legislative Assembly are normally held in the Court and Assembly Chamber in Stanley Town Hall and begin at a time appointed by the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. The constitution states there must be at least one meeting of the Legislative Assembly every year, although the Assembly normally meets every two to three months. Meetings of the Legislative Assembly are broadcast live on the local radio station, the

Falkland Islands Radio Service Falkland Islands Radio Service is an independent radio broadcaster in the Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. ...

. The members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) have office facilities at Gilbert House,

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

. The constitution gives the Legislative Assembly

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

powers for "the

peace, order and good government In many Commonwealth jurisdictions, the phrase "peace, order, and good government" (POGG) is an expression used in law to express the legitimate objects of legislative powers conferred by statute. The phrase appears in many Imperial Acts of Pa ...

of the Falkland Islands." Any MLA may introduce a

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

or propose any motion for debate. However, the Legislative Assembly is not permitted to propose a bill which makes alterations to the taxes or finances on the Islands, unless given permission to do so by the Governor, as this is the remit of the Director of Finance and the Public Accounts Committee who are elected by the Legislative Assembly and whose proposals are voted on by the Legislative Assembly. Most motions in the Assembly, including bills, are passed by a

simple majority Simple majority may refer to: * Majority, a voting requirement of more than half of all votes cast * Plurality (voting), a voting requirement of more votes cast for a proposition than for any other option * First-past-the-post voting, the single-win ...

of the elected members with the presiding officer having the

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

. The presiding officer of the Assembly is the Speaker (or the Deputy Speaker in the Speaker's absence) who is elected by the MLAs. Unlike the

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly does not need to be a member of the Assembly. The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are elected for the life of the Legislative Assembly though can be removed via a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

voted for by six or more MLAs. During the Speaker election, the

acts as presiding officer. The Assembly is governed by a number of standing orders which lay out the regulations for proceedings during Assembly meetings. Also, MLAs are granted

parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties ...

in the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly. There is also a Clerk of the Legislative Assembly who has a similar role to that of the

Clerk of the House of Commons The clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 in the House of Commons of England. The formal name for the position held by the Clerk of the House of Co ...

. Since the 2013 general election MLAs have been paid a salary, rather than just expenses, and are expected to work full-time, giving up whatever jobs or business interests they may have previously held.

Elections

There must be a

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

on the Falklands at least once every four years, although there can be an election at any time. As in most

Westminster system The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary system, parliamentary government that incorporates a series of Parliamentary procedure, procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of ...

s, the election campaign officially begins with the dissolution of the legislature. In the Falklands the Governor dissolves the Legislative Assembly by

proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

at the request of the Executive Council. There must be an election within 70 days of the dissolution and the Governor retains the power to recall a dissolved Legislative Assembly before the election, though only in the event of an emergency. The Falkland Islands are divided into two constituencies,

Camp Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

and

. Camp returns three elected members and Stanley returns five elected members using

block voting Block or bloc voting refers to a class of electoral systems where multiple candidates are elected simultaneously. They do not guarantee minority representation and allow a group of voters (a voting bloc) to ensure that only their preferred candi ...

. The Stanley constituency consists of the area within of the spire of Christ Church Cathedral, Stanley, while the Camp constituency consists of the rest of the Territory.Section 6
Electoral Ordinance 1988 (Ordinance No. 21 of 1988)
read with th
Elections (Boundaries of Constituencies) Regulations 1989 (S.R. & O. No. 11 of 1989)
The Constitution allows for the constituencies and their boundaries to be amended, but such an amendment must be agreed to by two-thirds of the vote in a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

of the islanders. Anyone aged eighteen years or over on the date of the election and registered to vote in the Falklands qualifies to be elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly in the constituency where they are registered. The Legislative Assembly is elected through

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

, which means that a person can vote if they are eighteen years or over on the date of the election, have

Falkland Islands status Falkland Islands status is a legal status in the Falkland Islands (the Falklands form of belonger status) defined by section 22(5) of the Falkland Islands Constitution and the Falkland Islands Status Ordinance, 2007 and is considered to be the ...

, are a British citizen and are a resident in the Falkland Islands on the date of the election. Someone can lose their right to vote if they have been certified

insane Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

or of unsound mind under any law, if they are serving a sentence of imprisonment for a term of at least twelve months, if they have been convicted of an offence relating to elections, or if they have any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state. Regular members of

His Majesty's Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

are also not allowed to vote. If there is any dispute over the election of the Assembly, or the validity of anyone to vote or stand for election, the

Supreme Court of the Falkland Islands 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 th ...

has the jurisdiction to resolve the dispute.

By-elections

If an elected member of the Legislative Assembly vacates his or her seat for any reason other than a dissolution of the Assembly, there is a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to fill the empty seat. The by-election must be held within 70 days the vacancy occurring, unless the Assembly is due to be dissolved within 126 days.

Current composition

The last election took place on 4 November 2021 and the next election is due to take place in 2025. As no political parties are active on the Islands,

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

s were elected at the most recent election.

Elected members

Officials

The Directorates are paid employees, members of the Corporate Management Team, the principal

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

s of the Assembly.

Oath or affirmation

Under section 42 of the constitution, before entering upon the functions of his or her office, the MLAs must take the

oath of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

and the oath of office. The wording for the oath of office is specified in Annex B to the Constitution:

References

* *

External links

* {{Authority control 2009 establishments in the Falkland Islands

Politics of the Falkland Islands