The '''Rikthing''' (Erish: ''Ríkþinged'' [ˌriːt͡ʃˈs̪ɪŋːl̩], "the realm assembly") is the {{wpl|Bicameralism|bicameral}} {{wpl|Federalism|federal}} {{wpl|parliament}} of [[Erishland]], consisting of the Landething (''Landeþinged'') and the Folkthing (''Folkþinged''). The two houses are generally not referred to as "upper" and "lower" houses respectively, but as "legislative" and "executive" houses due to each's powers and relationship with the Cabinet. The two houses meet in the Rikthing House in Serstead, the capital city. All members of both houses are elected every four years.
The '''Realm Diet''' (Erish: ''Rejcesdagen'' [ˈriːt͡ʃʰəs̪ˈð̞ɑːɣ̞n̩]) is the {{wpl|Federalism|federal}} {{wpl|parliament}} of [[Erishlands| the Erishlands]]. It is the only federal institution that is directly elected. Because of the participation of the Confederal Council in the federal legislative process, it functions similarly to a {{wpl|lower house}} in other democracies. The Realm Diet is established by Article IV, Chapter 1 of the Constitution of the Erish Confederation (Erish: ''Grundlogo Ärscbondem''), which lays out its composition and powers. The Realm Diet meets in the Realm Diet House (Erish: ''Rejcesdagshowseđ'') in Fzorzborg. As of 3 January 2021, the presiding officer, the Speaker of the Realm Diet, is Representative Yursten Wang.
The Landething consists of 179 Representatives. All of them are elected by {{wpl|closed list}} {{wpl|proportional representation}}, with 135 seats elected through a proportional election in each of the 6 Lands (which receive their seats by {{wpl|Degressive proportionality|degressive}} apportionment), and the remaining 44 being {{wpl|Levelling seats|compensatory}}. As a consequence of the system, multiple parties regularly attain representation, with the current Landething seating 10 different parties. Since 1897, no governing party has ever held a majority in the Landething, necessitating them negotiating with other parties to get legislation passed.
Erish citizens elect the entire Realm Diet every four years. The number of seats in the Realm Diet is set by the cubic root of the overall population as determined by the federal census, with the current Realm Diet having 277 seats. 208 of these seats belong to Representatives, and are apportioned to the states based upon their population and elected by {{wpl|Dual-member proportional representation|dual-mandate}} voting, where each constituency is represented by two Representatives. The first Representative is elected by {{wpl|First-past-the-post voting|winning the most votes}}, whilst the second seat is awarded so that a state's overall party representation is {{wpl|Proportional representation|proportional}}. The remaining 69 seats belong to Senators and are elected through a national {{wpl|Two-round voting|two-round}} proportional vote; the first vote guarantees seats to the two parties that receive the most votes, and the second vote determines their share of seats. {{wpl|Snap election|Midterm elections}} for the Realm Diet can only be called over deadlocked legislation, and the elected Representatives and Senators only serve out the remainder of the four-year term.
The Folkthing consists of 59 Senators, all of whom are elected through a national {{wpl|Single transferable vote|proportional runoff vote}} that progressively eliminates the weakest parties until two are left. At the national level during the past century, the two parties which receive Folkthing seats have traditionally been the center-left Democratic Party and center-right Realm Party (the Center has won the minority of seats a few times). As the Folkthing is the sole house the Royal Cabinet is responsible to, this has meant that the governing party always has a majority in the house.
The Realm Diet has several functions. As the federal legislature, it creates laws on areas of federal jurisdiction, but the Constitution also empowers it to legislate on certain areas of state jurisdiction. Such federally-created state laws, however, require the consent of the Confederal Council, thus establishing the two bodies in a relationship similar to the houses of a {{wpl|Bicameralism|bicameral}} parliament. The Realm Diet itself partially functions like a bicameral legislature; only Senators can participate in a {{wpl|vote of no confidence}}, whilst only Representatives can vote on military deployments, judiciary legislation, impeachments, or redistricting.
The Rikthing has its roots in the Landrad, which was first convened in 1609 by Queen Ljosne I as an assembly with nobles from each of the Lands to advise her on the governance of the realm. During the late 1700s, seats of the Rikthing gradually began to take on legislative powers and be democratically elected, until, by 1831, more than half of seats were elected. Following the Republican Revolts, the monarchy was forced into creating the Rikthing, whose powers were extensive enough to establish parliamentary democracy. In 1909, the Rikthing took its contemporary form with the adoption of the modern election systems in both houses, and the abolition of the Folkthing's absolute veto and of appointed seats in the Landething.
==History==
In 1603, Ljosne I became the first female ruler of Erishland, inheriting the throne from Jard II after the suspicious death of the heir apparent the previous year. Upon her ascension, Ljosne I gained considerable power, but became increasingly frustrated with the obstacles to her aims posed by the traditional structure of the court. Seeking to bypass the restraints imposed by her own court, the manner in which power had been centralized in the monarchy, and by the advisory forum of the Estates Assembly, Ljosne I assembled the Landrad in 1609. Filled predominantly with loyalists, the members of the Landrad were delegates from each of the Lands whom she convened for the purposes of advising her on the general governance of the Realm. Importantly, and in contrast to the centralization of power away from the Lands over the previous centuries, she empowered them to legislate and execute laws in her name in the Lands she felt, whether for political or practical reasons, were better delegated to them.
Although this served in the time of Ljosne I's reign to strengthen her grasp on power, the long-term consequences of the creation of the Landrad would ultimately come to weaken the power of the monarchy. It created, at first, an ever-gradually growing demand from the Lands to have increased control over their own affairs. Ljosne I's successor, Erik V, for example, would satiate unrest in Njarskland by establishing the Landthings, institutions similar to the Landrad for its delegates. This act would, in a century's time, facilitate the ultimate undoing of the monarchy's power. During the later half of the 1700s, liberal movements for the establishment of democracy began to emerge, and it was under their pressure that the Landthings began to have elected seats. This trend would eventually spread into the Landrad, with King Harald III allowing for the first elected seats.
By 1831, the Erish monarchy had become increasingly unstable and unpopular. The Panic of 1823, and the ensuing economic depression, had eroded faith in the centuries-old institution. In 1831, a combination of irresponsible farming practices and a blight led to a famine across much of the country. The Landrad, which by that point had half of its seats elected, attempted to alleviate the situation by proposing relief funded, in part, by a tax on the value of land. Although this was intended to be an initial proposal to be negotiated, King Ætholv and the nobility's wholesale rejection of the proposal sparked mass unrest. Over the next year, riots became increasingly frequent, and the republican movement in Erishland, previously underground, came out into the open and began openly calling for the end of the monarchy. On May 8, 1832, a riot in the capital city of Serstead ended in a failed storming of the Royal Hall. Despite pleas from his court in previous days to leave, King Ætholv had remained in the city.
In the aftermath of the riot, the King, after solemnly consulting his council, invited leaders of factions in the Landrad, as well as republican figureheads, to come together and establish a constitution. There were a number of demands the King made in the ensuing deliberations over the summer, but the most important demand would be the retention of the monarchy and nobility. Republicans, who desired the establishment of a presidency, initially refused this demand, especially as continuing unrest further weakened the hand of the monarchy and nobility. Ultimately, the King made a one-time offer - his Cabinet would be {{wpl|Responsible government|responsible}} to a body entirely elected by the people. Republicans were eager at the prospect of an elected government, but feared the implications of a {{wpl|Fusion of powers|fused}} executive - they, in turn, offered to accept if the Landrad would increase the number of elected seats from 75 out of 150 to 90 out of 150 (enough to have a democratic majority, but not a majority to amend the constitution, which would protect several of the nobility's interests). They desired a chamber that could, if the King (or Cabinet) attempted to influence the entirely elected body, counteract the body as a "pure legislature".
This mutual offer initially fell apart within days due to the reservations of landed interests. Another riot in Serstead, however, forced them to concede. Upon the promulgation of the Constitution of the Erish Realm the following year, the Rikthing was established as a bicameral legislature. The Landrad, reconstituted as the Landething, would have the aforementioned 90-60 split between elected and appointed seats (the elected seats evenly split between the now co-sovereign Lands), and was, apart from an inability to hold the Cabinet accountable (or to propose or amend appropriations), coequal with the Folkthing. The Folkthing would be composed of 75 elected seats, apportioned based on a Land's population, and would have the aforementioned powers of confidence and proposal of supply. The Rikthing, and the broader Constitutional system, would be considerably radical for its time, but it would age in decades.
==Composition and elections==
The Constitution establishes the Rikthing as being composed of the Landething and Folkthing. Unusually, there is no difference in terms between the two houses - both are elected concurrently every four years.
===Landething===
Since 1941, the Landething has consisted of 179 Representatives, as established by legislation passed the previous year. Under the Constitution, after it was amended in 1909, half of all Landething seats are equally split between the six Lands (with each currently receiving 15, for a total of 90), and a quarter (45) are then apportioned by population to achieve {{wpl|degressive proportionality}}. The seats of each Land are elected through {{wpl|closed list}} {{wpl|proportional representation}} with a 2% {{wpl|Voting threshold|threshold}} for a given Land's party to receive seats, with seats being apportioned to parties using the Smith method (a method similar to {{wpl|Webster/Sainte-Laguë method|Sainte-Laguë}}). The remaining 44 seats are apportioned to political parties based upon the general election results, so that the overall composition of the Landething can resemble said results.
The combination of proportional representation with a low threshold of 2 percent has all but guaranteed the large number of parties regularly seen winning representation in each election since 1909. Although the governing party always has a majority in the Folkthing, this has consequently meant that the governing party controls, at best, a plurality (not majority) of seats in the Landething. This was intentional, as the 1909 reforms sought to have the Landething not be controlled by the governing party, and instead become the house representing the different political interests of the country, in addition to its traditional role of representing the Lands.
Representatives are required to be of-age citizens who have resided as such in Erishland for five years, and to reside in the Land they represent. For native Erish citizens, this means the effective age requirement for being a Representative is 23.
===Folkthing===
The number of seats in the Folkthing is constitutionally tied to that in the Landething, with it being required to be a third of the Landething's size. Consequently, since 1941, it has consisted of 59 Senators. All seats of the Folkthing are elected through a national {{wpl|closed list}} {{wpl|Single transferable vote|proportional runoff}} vote of the parties that won 10 percent of the vote in the previous Landething election. The party which receives the least first preference votes has its votes transferred to voters' second preferences, and the same process repeats until there are only two parties left, with the final share of the vote being the basis for the apportionment of seats by the Smith method.
The use of the two-party proportional runoff has favored large, moderate parties, particularly the center-left Democratic Party and center-right Realm Party. Ideally, the system ensures that all voters can directly choose the governing party, that said party is supported by the absolute majority, and that the opposition has the strength of the support of the absolute minority. Nonetheless, the restriction of the Rikthing, and therefore the Cabinet, to two parties creates occasional debates. Overall, however, the system is viewed as an important component of the dynamics of the institution of the Rikthing.
Senators are required to be of-age citizens who have resided as such in Erishland for seven years. For native Erish citizens, this means the effective age requirement for being a Senator is 25.
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The Realm Diet (Erish: Rejcesdagen [ˈriːt͡ʃʰəs̪ˈð̞ɑːɣ̞n̩]) is the federalparliament of the Erishlands. It is the only federal institution that is directly elected. Because of the participation of the Confederal Council in the federal legislative process, it functions similarly to a lower house in other democracies. The Realm Diet is established by Article IV, Chapter 1 of the Constitution of the Erish Confederation (Erish: Grundlogo Ärscbondem), which lays out its composition and powers. The Realm Diet meets in the Realm Diet House (Erish: Rejcesdagshowseđ) in Fzorzborg. As of 3 January 2021, the presiding officer, the Speaker of the Realm Diet, is Representative Yursten Wang.
Erish citizens elect the entire Realm Diet every four years. The number of seats in the Realm Diet is set by the cubic root of the overall population as determined by the federal census, with the current Realm Diet having 277 seats. 208 of these seats belong to Representatives, and are apportioned to the states based upon their population and elected by dual-mandate voting, where each constituency is represented by two Representatives. The first Representative is elected by winning the most votes, whilst the second seat is awarded so that a state's overall party representation is proportional. The remaining 69 seats belong to Senators and are elected through a national two-round proportional vote; the first vote guarantees seats to the two parties that receive the most votes, and the second vote determines their share of seats. Midterm elections for the Realm Diet can only be called over deadlocked legislation, and the elected Representatives and Senators only serve out the remainder of the four-year term.
The Realm Diet has several functions. As the federal legislature, it creates laws on areas of federal jurisdiction, but the Constitution also empowers it to legislate on certain areas of state jurisdiction. Such federally-created state laws, however, require the consent of the Confederal Council, thus establishing the two bodies in a relationship similar to the houses of a bicameral parliament. The Realm Diet itself partially functions like a bicameral legislature; only Senators can participate in a vote of no confidence, whilst only Representatives can vote on military deployments, judiciary legislation, impeachments, or redistricting.
