Parliament of Western Australia
The Parliament of Western Australia is bicameral, consisting of a lower and an upper house.
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly (lower house) is composed of 59 members of parliament, each of whom represent a single electoral district and are elected using a preferential voting system. The Legislative Assembly currently sits for fixed four-year terms. The leader of the party with a majority in the Legislative Assembly (or with the confidence of the Assembly) is appointed by the Governor as the Premier of Western Australia.
The Western Australian Legislative Council (upper house) has 36 members (or MLCs), representing six electoral regions. Five members are elected for each province using a proportional voting system.
General elections are held every four years, electing the entire Legislative Assembly and half of the Legislative Council. The next state election is scheduled for 11 March 2017.
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