Senate (Tengaria)

Senate Сенат Senatus
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	State Council Chamber of Deputies
History
Founded	November 14, 1868 (1868-11-14)
Structure
Seats	475 Senators 95 Councilors 380 Deputies
State Council political groups	Officially non-partisan Unofficial Groups:   Independent (54)   Patriotic Union (32)   Clergy (9)
Chamber of Deputies political groups	Officially non-partisan Unofficial Groups:   Patriotic Union (330)   Democratic Front (12)   Social Reform Front (5)   Independent (33)
Length of term	Lifetime (State Council) 6 Years (Deputies)
Elections
State Council voting system	Appointed
Chamber of Deputies voting system	First-past-the-post voting
Last election	August 16, 2018
Next election	August 16, 2024
Meeting place
Palace of the Senate, Lenovo

The Senate (Tengarian: Сенат or Senat, Solarian: Senatus), more commonly known as the Senate of Tengaria or the Tengarian Senate (Tengarian: Сенат на Тенгария or Senat na Tengariya), is the bicameral legislature of Tengaria. It is comprised of two houses, the State Council, appointed by the President for life-terms, and the popularly elected Chamber of Deputies.

The Senate claims descent from the Solarian Senate, which was preserved in various forms through the Empire of Arciluco, although over time its authority greatly declined and served. After the translation of the Imperial Power to Tengaria in the formulation of the Empire of Tengaria, the Imperial institution of the Senate was carried over to the Empire. For most of the Empire's history, it served largely a ceremonial and advisory role to the monarchs, until the Green Revolution of 1868 forced the monarchy to adopt certain democratic elements into its governance. The Senate was formally established as the Empire's legislature in 1868, for the first time formally adopting the division in houses and becoming a set institution. It further changed during the establishment of the Tengarian Republic, and was greatly involved in the poltical crisis of the 1940s and 50s. After the Tengarian Civil War, the Senate was again reformed by Simeon Kovachev into the current institution.

The Senate is notable for being an explicitly non-partisan legislature, and differs from many other national legislatures in that political parties are formally banned, with the notable exception of organisations such as the Patriotic Union, which itself does not claim to the be a political party. Despite the Patriotic Union and a few other political movements having its members in the legislature, as there are no parties there is no official majority government nor official establishment of a working majority. The building which the Senate meets in, the Palace of the Senate, is one of Tengaria's most famous structures, and is a prominent landmark in the capital city of Lenovo.

Historical Composition of the State Council

Since both the State Council under the Empire and the Kovachev era was unelected and appointments were for life, the political status of the Senate changed very gradually and unsystematically. Under both, the majority of Councilors were regarded as independents. Under the Republic, the State Council became 60 members elected from the regions equally, and had an electoral cycle coinciding with the Chamber of Deputies. Below listed are the State Councils as they were during inaugural session; vacancies and replacements are not listed.

TSMR   ZRS   NF   SP   RP   PP   ZS   TNP   AKA   EDP   TNVP   VS   Independent
1935–1940	1 3 7 20 8 3 18
1940–1945	1 2 2 1 16 1 6 6 7 1 17
1945–1950	4 3 4 2 10 1 4 7 6 19
1950–1955	8 4 5 5 6 1 6 25
1955–1958	25 8 27

Historical Composition of the Chamber of Deputies

Unlike the State Council, the Chamber of Deputies has for its entire history been elected regularly, and thus the composition can be shown. Below listed are the Chamber of Deputies as they were during inaugural session; vacancies and replacements are not listed.

Imperial Era

SLP   PP   TNVP   KP   VS   Independent
1868-1874	100
1874-1880	107
1880-1886	113
1886-1892	115
1892-1898	121
1898-1904	35 24 66
1904-1910	4 12 45 9 63
1910-1916	9 21 26 8 69
1916-1922	11 30 24 4 72
1922-1928	10 22 12 25 2 78
1928-1930	6 17 15 25 2 84
1930-1935	1 2 1 7 11 41

VI-125 VII-133 VII-133 IX-141 X-149 XI-149 XII-62

Tengarian Republic

TSMR   ZRS   NF   SP   RP   PP   ZS   TNP   AKA   EDP   TNVP   VS   FNS   Independent
1935–1940	3 16 18 13 44 3 75 23 21 84
1940–1945	10 18 21 18 67 5 1 44 3 24 13 73 3
1945–1950	31 22 31 27 65 7 30 8 37 10 81 1
1950–1955	58 24 27 31 37 4 4 22 41 7 95
1955–1958	4 171 2 2 4 49 4 139

XIII-300 XIV-300, XV-350, XVI-350, XVII-375

Kovachev Era

Under the 1958 Constitution, all political parties are outlawed and the legislature is explicity non-partisan; however, what is represented here are the unofficial political groups in the Chamber of Deputies. The Patriotic Union is not legally considered as a political party.

Social Reform   Democrats   Patriotic Union   Independent
1958-1964	38 342
1964-1970	22 358
1970-1976	18 362
1976-1982	15 365
1982-1988	14 366
1988-1994	14 18 348
1994-2000	21 26 333
2000-2006	5 18 21 335
2006-2012	9 21 24 326
2012-2018	9 22 28 321