Factions in the Latin Senate

This article lists factions in the Latin Senate. The first senatorial factions began to officially form in the early 1830s, culminating with the reign and reforms of Maria IV Gentilia and Theophylactus I Anicius. Initially these factions formed around prominent senators, often reshuffling at every election. Today, the two largest senatorial factions are the center-right Populares and the center-left Optimates.

Process

Unofficial factions in the Senate predate any formalization of the modern factional system, and have existed in various forms since the earliest days of the assembly. The formalization of factions first appeared in the mid-19th century with the appearance of the Populares in 1833. Initially, the Populares favored the common people and better represented their interests in the Senate. By 1842, the Populares came to favor Imperial interests and the reforms of Maria IV Gentilia and Theophylactus I Anicius, in 1848.

According to Senate rules, and later Imperial Edict, modern political parties are prohibited from the Senate and political offices in Latium. Representation in the senate is based upon the theory of virtual representation, with the means of voting necessitates the existence of factions in order for elections to be fulfilled. The Sacred Assembly is responsible for monitoring senate elections, and also sanctioning official senate factions. To qualify as a faction, a group of citizens must present an senatorial list of no fewer than 350 eligible citizens, 100,000 verified signatures supporting the faction, pay a filing fee of $500,000 (requirements for signatures and filing fees are doubled if factions submit a full faction list, and tripled if filed past the deadline), a distinct leadership, and 10 comital rank sponsors. Upon submission of all requirements, the Imperial Election Committee vets all senatorial lists and faction members. Individuals on senatorial lists are heavily scrutinized before a faction is officially sanctioned. Senate factions are prohibited from sponsoring individuals running for lower or local office and may face heavy penalties for doing so, possibly including loss of imperial approval as a faction and potential removal of all senators from said faction. Factions are prohibited from affiliating with foreign or international political party organizations.

The Populares are the oldest extant senate faction, and are the only faction to predate the electoral process; it has participated in every election since 1866. Omnes was previously the second oldest faction before the faction dissolved and reformed the Optimates, having previously participated in every election from 1850 to 1970. The Optimates are currently the largest faction in the Senate. Aliis is the most recently established faction, first earning faction status in 2015. Independent senators are rare due to electoral requirements, and are most often individuals appointed by the Emperor whose seats are not bound by election. These independent senators are often granted special dispensation to forgo joining a faction, which are collectively referred to as Independentes. A fifth faction, Provincialis, sporadically exists in the Senate due to its inability to submit a complete senatorial list or not receiving enough votes.

Current factions with Senate representation

List of factions with Senate representation

	Majority	Senate leader	Seats in the Senate	Ideology
Optimates The Best Ones	Majority	Alexander Pompilius	420 / 794	Senatorialism, national liberalism, pragmatism, economic liberalism, big tent
Populares Favoring the Empire	In minority	Amantius Martius	273 / 794	Claudianism, social conservatism, paternalistic conservatism, Imperial care, big tent
Aliis For the Alternative	In minority	Felix Procilius	98 / 794	Reformism, populism, direct democracy
Independentes Independents	In minority	None	3 / 794	Varied