Next Gibraltar general election
General elections will be held in Gibraltar by 8 March 2028 to elect all 17 members to the sixth Gibraltar Parliament.
Background
Before the 2023 elections, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo announced that if elected, his fourth term as Chief Minister would be his last, and suggested Gemma Arias-Vasquez to be his successor as leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party, if elected by the party, thus would become Gibraltar's first female Chief Minister and MP who takes the role without being a party leader, if decided in the general election. Nigel Feetham, the new Minister for Justice, Trade & Industry, has also expressed interest in succeeding Picardo as party leader on social media.On 5 November 2024, Picardo rescinded his retirement plan, announcing on GBC that he would be standing for the next elections as party leader, subject to a vote of confidence by party membership at its AGM. Feetham subsequently rescinded his leadership bid, which resulted in Picardo being re-elected party leader unopposed.
On 20 October 2025, it was announced that the GSLP will hold its next AGM on the 20th of November to elect its five executive members. On the same day, it was announced that Fabian Picardo will not stand for reelection for the leadership elections on that day and had a date set for when he will step down as party leader.
In his New Year Message in 2026, Fabian Picardo announced that the full year would be his last as Chief Minister, ready to step aside by the next general elections in 2027.
Polling
Midterm Polling
On 13 October 2025, GBC released three midterm polls, carried out by independent critical research company, Mediatel Ltd, of who would be elected if an election were held the next day.The first was which party/candidates the public would vote for, and/or how to vote. The results were as follows: GSD - 28.52%Don't know - 26.48% GSLP/Libs - 20.47% Split voting - 14.45%Independent candidate - 10.09%
The second was for which one of the current MPs does the public think is suitable to be the Chief Minister: Other - 24.39%Fabian Picardo - 15.49%Damon Bossino - 14.42% Gemma Arias-Vasquez - 11.52%Keith Azopardi - 11.52% Nigel Feetham - 5.23%Joseph Garcia - 4.84%Christian Santos - 2.42%Craig Sacarello - 2.13% Sir Joe Bossano - 1.94%Giovanni Origo - 1.36%Roy Clinton - 1.06%John Cortes - 0.77%Joelle Ladislaus - 0.77% Leslie Bruzon - 0.68%Patricia Orfila - 0.48%Edwin Reyes - 0.48%Atrish Sanchez - 0.48%
The third poll was to ask the public which of the current MPs they want to vote for to be or remain in Parliament: Other - 37.50%Damon Bossino - 34.98%Gemma Arias-Vasquez - 33.53%Craig Sacarello - 32.17%Keith Azopardi - 30.52%Joseph Garcia - 30.04%Nigel Feetham - 29.75%Roy Clinton - 28.10%Christian Santos - 27.33%Fabian Picardo - 26.07%Joelle Ladislaus - 24.42%Giovanni Origo - 22.77%Edwin Reyes - 18.70%John Cortes - 17.73%Atrish Sanchez - 17.64%Leslie Bruzon - 14.53%Joe Bossano - 14.44%Patricia Orfila - 12.98%
Electoral system
Under section 38 of the Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006, the parliament must be dissolved four years after its first meeting following the last election. 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.With the first meeting of the current parliament taking place on 10 November 2023, parliament must be dissolved before midnight on 9 November 2027, writs must be issued by 9 December 2027 and an election must take place before 8 March 2028. However, if recent precedent is followed, the Chief Minister is likely to ask the Governor for an early dissolution and an election to take place sometime in October 2027. Following the British tradition, elections conventionally take place on a Thursday.