Country Profile
Malta officially the Republic of Malta is a country in southern Europe consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean
Malta covers just over 316 km2 (122 sq mi) in land area, making it one of the world's smallest States
Capital -Valletta
Currency -Euro
Population -0.5 Million(2011 Estimate)
Official Language - Maltese and English
Politics and Govt
Malta is a Parliamentary Representative Democratic Republic where the President of Malta is the Head of the State and the Prime Minister of Malta is the Head of the Govt
Legislative Power is vested with the Parliament of Malta which consists of the President of Malta and the Unicameral House of Representatives of Malta
The President is elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term. He appoints as Prime Minister the leader of the party with a majority of seats in the Unicameral House of Representatives
President of Malta
George Abela is the 8th and current President of Malta in office from April 2009 .He succeeded Eddie Fenech Adami whose 5-year term as President of Malta expired on 4 April 2009.
On 12 January 2009, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced that the Government was proposing George Abela as the nextPresident of Malta
This was the first time in Maltese history that the government nominated a President from the opposition
2013 Maltese General Election -Saturday March 9,2013
The Parliament of Malta called House of Representatives is Unicameral with 69 members elected for a 5-year term
Background to the election
Party Position in Parliament of Malta called House of Representatives
Nationalist Party - 35 Seats
Labour Party - 34 Seats
The election was called for because the incumbent PM Lawrence Gonzi lost Vote of Confidence Vote by one vote which necessitated for fresh polls(ruling party MP Franco Debono voted against the government's budget proposal in protest over transportation reform in giving a German operator the contract to manage the national bus service)
Lawrence Gonzi announced that the House of Representatives be dissolved on Jan 7,2013 and a general election called for March 9,2013
There are two main Political Parties in Malta -
1)Nationalist Party of the Incumbent PM Lawrence Gonzi and
2)Labour Party led by Joseph Muscat,an economist and former member of the European Parliament
Labour Party Returns to power after 15 years in opposition
Malta's Labour party is returning to power after 15 years in opposition, with a projected win of 55% of the vote.Labour Party leader Joseph Muscat claimed a "landslide victory" for his party, with the outgoing Nationalist Party expected to take 43% of the ballots.
Conceding defeat, Nationalist party leader Lawrence Gonzi said he took full responsibility for the Nationalists' poor result and would not seek re-election as party leader
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