Governor swears in Alliance ministers hours after electoral win

The newly-elected GSLP/Liberal Alliance candidates were yesterday sworn in to become Gibraltar’s 10 Government ministers for the next four years.
The swearing in ceremony was held at the Convent just three hours after the Alliance were declared the winners of this year’s general election, having secured 52.5% of the total vote.
The Governor of Gibraltar, Lieutenant General Edward Davis, conducted the ceremony, during which the ministers swore their allegiance to the Queen.
First up was Chief Minister Fabian Picardo followed by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia.
He was followed by Paul Balban, Sir Joe Bossano, Dr John Cortes, Vijay Daryanani, Albert Isola, Gilbert Licudi, Steven Linares and Samantha Sacramento, who took their turns in alphabetical order.
Although they all looked exhausted after a long night of waiting for the election results, all 10 ministers looked overjoyed at returning into Government for the third term.
They were joined by family members and close friends, Returning Officer Paul Martinez, Attorney General Michael Llamas, QC, and other local dignitaries.
In his address, Lt Gen Davis paid tribute to all electoral candidates and highlighted the “spirit, inclusivity, substance and efficiency” of the campaign in this election.
“Gibraltar can be proud of its four political parties and two independent candidates, proud of a 71% turnout, proud of its general election and proud of its democracy,” Lt Gen Davis said.
“As Governor I was inspired, and yes, proud too, to have witnessed the Gibraltarian electorate’s passion for and commitment to exercising their profound and hard-earned right to decide their destiny by voting in [Thursday’s] general election.”
“A right, I now realise, sits proudly at the very heart of a Gibraltarian’s identity.”
“Gibraltar must never underestimate the power and value of this compelling democratic example as our global Rock steps out ambitiously, boldly and confidently in the post-Brexit world.”
Lt Gen Davis thanked the 32 candidates taking part in this year’s election, adding they “quite rightly deserve the admiration and respect”.
“Standing for political office takes a level of courage, altruism and dedication that few of us possess and even few of us are prepared to employ given the personal and professional sacrifices and constraints incumbent in being a politician, particularly in a small jurisdiction such as Gibraltar,” he added.
After having their photo taken with the Governor, the 10 Government ministers and their families made the short journey to No.6 Convent Place where they were welcomed by resounding applause.
After greeting his staff with hugs and cheers, Mr Picardo half-jokingly reminded them of “four more budgets” to come before making his way up to his offices to get straight to work.