House of Representatives of Malta

The House of Representatives (rendered as Kamra tad-Deputati in Maltese) is the unicameral legislature of Malta and a component of the Parliament of Malta.

The House is composed of an odd number of members (currently has 69) elected for a five year term. Ordinarily, five members are returned from each of thirteen electoral districts through single transferable vote but additional members are elected in cases of disproportionality (e.g. where party with an absolute majority of votes fails an absolute majority of seats and where only candidates from two parties are elected).

The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House. The President of Malta is appointed for a five year term by a resolution of the House.

Meeting Place

The House is currently housed in the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta.

In 2010, works commenced to build a new Parliamentary building. The government's original proposal had been to build Parliament on the site of the former opera house site in Valletta. This was shelved after the footprint was deemed too small and instead the new Parliament building will be built in Freedom Square. The building will be built to designs of Renzo Piano and is expected to be completed by the end of the current Parliamentary term, that is not later than 2013.

Committees

The Standing Orders of the House provide for the creation of six Parliamentary Standing Committees to make parliamentary work more efficient and enhance Parliament's scrutiny...
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