Alaoyian National Council

Alaoyian National Council 3 official names Onslander Koudlandse Ndibeanyan Kealaoyi Diash Talúnfuarnach
8th Alaoyian National Council
Type
Type	Upper
History
Founded	July 13, 1987 (1987-07-13)
New session started	July 8, 2019
Structure
Seats	201 Councilors, 65 blocs.
Political groups	XXX (241)   XXX (69)   XXX (46)
Elections
Last election	June 24, 2019
Next election	June 19, 2023
Meeting place
Alaoyian National Council Chambers Seekant

The Alaoyian National Council , commonly referred to as simply the National Council, is the upper house of the parliament of Alaoyi. The constitution names the National Council as the national voice of the federal entities.

Powers and Duties

Legislation cannot be introduced into the National Council unless it regards the powers of federal entities or the consititution.

The National Council debates legislation, and has the power to amend or reject bills. However, the power of the Council to reject a bill passed by the Senate is severely restricted by the Constitution. Under the Alaoyian 1987 Constitution, certain types of bills may be presented to the President without the consent of the National Council. The Council cannot delay a bill which solely concerns national taxation or public funds for more than one month. Other public bills cannot be delayed by the Council for more than two parliamentary sessions, or one calendar year. These provisions, however, only apply to public bills that originate in the Senate. The Council is further restrained insofar as financial bills are concerned. The Council may neither originate a bill concerning taxation or or the government budget, nor amend a bill so as to insert a taxation or budget-related provision. Moreover, the Council may not amend any budgetary bill.

The Council, however, can veto a constitutional amendment with a two thirds vote and any bill relating to the powers, borders, or other interests of federal entities must be passed by the Council as well.

Structure and Election

The National Council was originally the only house of the Alaoyian legislature until it was reformed in 1987. Councilors serve eight year terms and are appointed by the government which they represent. Each federal entity, except for the autonomous communities and the district they are located within, gets between two to four delegates, depending on its population.

If over 20% of the population of a federal entity belongs to one of recognized national minorities (currently Marchan, Inith, Vanhish, and Ikhetese) then at least one delegate must be a member of that minority.

Voting

In contrast to many other legislative bodies, the delegates to the Council from any one entity are required to cast the votes of the entity as a single bloc (since the votes are not those of the respective delegate). The delegates are not independent members of the Council but instructed representatives of the federated states' governments. If the members of a delegation cast different votes then the entire vote of the respective state is invalid. This tradition stems from the 1867 Bundesrat.The delegates of a federal entity are equal to each other in the Council. This unique bloc system only comes into play when the issue at hand concerns the federal entities or the constitution. If the situation does not, then the members vote as independent legislators.

Because coalition governments are common, states frequently choose to abstain if their coalition cannot agree on a position. In situations requiring a supermajority (such as constitutional amendments) the Council requires a supermajority of all votes, meaning that an abstension is essentially the same as a vote against.