| Malta is a democratic republic whose parliamentary system and public administration is closely modeled on the Westminster system in the United Kingdom . The unicameral House of Representatives , known in Maltese as il-Kamra tad-Deputati, is elected by direct universal suffrage through the single transferable vote (STV) every five years, unless the House is dissolved earlier by the President on advice of the Prime Minister . The party who wins the majority of the votes, forms the cabinet . The House of Representatives is made up of 65 Members of Parliament . However, where a party wins an absolute majority of votes, but does not have a majority of seats, that party (the cabinet) is given additional seats to ensure a parliamentary majority. By the Constitution of Malta, the President appoints the Prime Minister, who in general is the leader of the party forming the cabinet.
The President of the Republic is elected every five years by the House of Representatives. The role of the president as head of state is highly ceremonial. The main political parties are the Nationalist Party , which is a Christian democratic party, and the Malta Labour Party , which is a social democratic party. The Nationalist Party is currently at the helm of the government, and the Prime Minister is Dr. Lawrence Gonzi.
Since 1993, Malta has been subdivided into 68 local councils or localities, elected for a term of three years. These form the most basic form of local government. There are no intermediate levels between local government and national government.
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