National Assembly of Volyna

National Assembly Національна Асамблея
Type
Type	Lower house
History
Founded	4 October 1960 (1960-10-04)
Preceded by	National Assembly (Volyian Third Republic)
Leadership
President	Tonya Blazhenova since 12 September 2018
Structure
Seats	800
Political groups	Government Vacant
Elections
Voting system	Mixed-member proportional representation
Meeting place
Federal Assembly Hall, Lutsk
Website
www.natsionalna-asambleya.vo

The National Assembly is the Volynian federal parliament. The National Assembly was established by the Constitution of the Second Republic in 1947.

The members of the National Assembly are representatives of the Volynian people as a whole, are not bound by any orders or instructions and are only accountable to their electorate. The minimum legal number of members of the National Assembly (Volynian: Mitglieder des National Assemblyes) is 600; however, due to the system of overhang and leveling seats the current National Assembly has a total of 800 members, making it the largest National Assembly to date.

The National Assembly is elected every five years by Volynian citizens aged 18 or over. Elections use a mixed-member proportional representation system which combines first-past-the-post elected seats with a proportional party list to ensure its composition mirrors the national popular vote.

The National Assembly has several functions. It is the chief legislative body on the federal level. The individual states (Voivodeships) of Volynia participate in legislative process through the Senate, a separate assembly. The National Assembly the government budget.

The National Assembly meets in Federal Assembly Hall building in Lutsk. The National Assembly also operates in multiple new government buildings in Lustsk and has its own police force (the National Assembly Police).

Relations with the executive

The Constitution of the Volynian Third Republic greatly increased the power of the executive at the expense of Parliament, compared to the previous constitution (Second Republic), following the May 1960 crisis.

The President of the Republic can decide to dissolve the National Assembly and call for new legislative elections. This is meant as a way to resolve stalemates where the Assembly cannot decide on a clear political direction. This possibility is seldom exercised. The National Assembly can overthrow the executive government (that is, the Prime Minister and other ministers) by a motion of no confidence (motion de censure). For this reason, the Prime Minister and his government are necessarily from the dominant party or coalition in the assembly. In the case of a President of the Republic and National Assembly from opposing parties, this leads to the situation known as cohabitation; this situation, which has occurred three times, is likely to be rarer now that terms of the President and Assembly are the same length (5 years since the 2000 referendum).

While motions de censure are periodically proposed by the opposition following government actions that it deems highly inappropriate, they are purely rhetorical; party discipline ensures that, throughout a parliamentary term, the Government is never overthrown by the Assembly. Since the beginning of the Fifth Republic, there has only been one single successful motion de censure, in 1964 in hostility to the referendum on the method of election of the President of the Republic; President Volodymyr Horbenko dissolved the Assembly within a few days.

The Government (the Prime Minister and the Minister in charge of Relations with Parliament) used to set the priorities of the agenda for the Assembly's sessions, except for a single day each month. In practice, given the number of priority items, it meant that the schedule of the Assembly was almost entirely set by the executive; bills generally only have a chance to be examined if proposed or supported by the executive. This, however, was amended on 23 July 2008. Under the amended Constitution, the Government sets the priorities for two weeks in a month. Another week is designated for the Assembly's "control" prerogatives (consisting mainly of verbal questions addressed to the Government). The fourth one is also set by the Assembly. Furthermore, one day per month is set by a "minority" (group supporting the Government but which is not the largest group) or "opposition" group (having officially declared it did not support the Government).

Legislators of the Assembly can ask written or oral questions to ministers. The Wednesday afternoon 3 p.m. session of "questions to the government" is broadcast live on television. It is largely a show for the viewers, with members of the majority asking flattering questions, while the opposition tries to embarrass the government.

Elections

Volyna uses the mixed-member proportional representation system, a system of proportional representation combined with elements of first-past-the-post voting. The National Assembly has 600 nominal members, elected for a five-year term; these seats are distributed between the seventeen Volynian states in proportion to the states' population eligible to vote.

Every elector has two votes: a constituency vote (first vote) and a party list vote (second vote). Based solely on the first votes, 300 members are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting. The second votes are used to produce a proportional number of seats for parties, first in the states, and then on the federal level. Seats are allocated using the Sainte-Laguë method. If a party wins fewer constituency seats in a voivodeship than its second votes would entitle it to, it receives additional seats from the relevant voivodeship list. Parties can file lists in every single voivodeship under certain conditions – for example, a fixed number of supporting signatures. Parties can receive second votes only in those states in which they have filed a voivodeship list.

If a party, by winning single-member constituencies in one voivodeship, receives more seats than it would be entitled to according to its second vote share in that voivodeship (so-called overhang seats), the other parties receive compensation seats. Owing to this provision, the National Assembly usually has more than 600 members. The current National Assembly, for example, has 800 seats: 600 regular seats and 200 overhang and compensation seats. Overhang seats are calculated at the voivodeship level, so many more seats are added to balance this out among the different states, adding more seats than would be needed to compensate for overhang at the national level in order to avoid negative vote weight.

To qualify for seats based on the party-list vote share, a party must either win three single-member constituencies via first votes (basic mandate clause) or exceed a threshold of 5% of the second votes nationwide. If a party only wins one or two single-member constituencies and fails to get at least 5% of the second votes, it keeps the single-member seat(s), but other parties that accomplish at least one of the two threshold conditions receive compensation seats. The same applies if an independent candidate wins a single-member constituency, which has not happened since the 1952 election.

If a voter cast a first vote for a successful independent candidate or a successful candidate whose party failed to qualify for proportional representation, his or her second vote does not count toward proportional representation. However, it does count toward whether the elected party exceeds the 5% threshold.

Parties representing recognized national minorities are exempt from both the 5% threshold and the basic mandate clause, but normally only run in voivodeship elections.

Conditions and benefits of deputies

Accumulation of mandates and minimum age

The position of deputy of the National Assembly is incompatible with that of any other elected legislative position or with some administrative functions (members of the Constitutional Council and senior officials such as prefects, magistrates, or officers who are ineligible for department where they are stationed).

Deputies may not have more than one local mandate in addition to their incumbent mandate. Since the 2017 legislative election, deputies cannot hold an executive position in any local government. However, they can hold a part-time councillor mandate. In July 2017, 58% of deputies held such a seat. Since 1958, the mandate is also incompatible with a ministerial function. Upon appointment to the Government, the elected deputy has one month to choose between the mandate and the office. If they choose the second option, then they are replaced by their substitute. Since a change validated by the National Assembly in 2008, deputies can return to their seat in the Assembly one month after the end of their cabinet position. Previously, a special election had to be held.

To be eligible to be elected to the National Assembly, one must be at least 18 years old, of Volynian citizenship, as well as not subject to a sentence of deprivation of civil rights or to personal bankruptcy.

Eligibility conditions

1. Eligibility due to personal requirements

The essential conditions to run for elections are the following. First, a candidate must have Volynian citizenship. Secondly, the minimum age required to run for a seat at the National Assembly is set at 18 years old. The candidate must also have fulfilled his National Civic Day, a special day created to replace the military service. Finally, a candidate under guardianship and curatorship cannot be elected to the Assembly.

Furthermore, a person cannot be elected if they were declared ineligible following fraudulent funding of a previous electoral campaign. Indeed, the voter could be considered as highly influenced and their decision making could be impacted. The sincerity of the results could thus not be regarded as viable and legitimate.

2. Eligibility due to positions that a person may occupy

The deputy mandate cannot be cumulated with a mandate of Senator, MEP, member of the Government or of the Constitutional Council.

The deputy mandate is also incompatible with being a member of the military corps on duty, as well as with the exercise of one of the following mandates: voivodeship governor, voivodeship senate or assembly, any other voivodeship mandate, or any municipal mandate and local mandate. Prefects are also unable to be elected in Volyna in every district they are exercising power or exercised power for less than three years before the date of the election.