Elections in Walneria
The Confederacy of Walneria is a constitutional republic with regular elections for many offices and assemblies. Every citizen aged 18 years at the second day of the election is eligible to vote in all elections. Citizens of Walneria have the right to vote in the elections for:
- National Assembly
- President
- Regional council or autonomous parliament in the region they are a permanent resident of
- Hóitman or Autonomous President of the region they are a permanent resident of
- County council if they are a resident in one of the Special Counties in Walneria or the Consular Assembly if they reside abroad
- Hóitman of the special county if they are a resident of one
- Municipal council in the municipality (and city borough when applicable) they are a permanent resident of
- Primátor or mayor of the municipality (and city borough when applicable) they are a permanent resident of
- Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Democratically-Aligned Nations
Elections are usually coupled, with the regional elections, county elections and municipal elections taking place at the same time.
Timing
Elections are held over the period of two days, starting on 14:00 on Friday and ending on 22:00 on Saturday with a gap over the night from Friday to Saturday between 22:00 and 6:00.
Elections into regional, county and municipal councils is set by law to be the first possible term in August with the terms starting on September 1st.
Elections into the National Assembly and the Grand National Assembly must be held at the soonest 90 days before and at the latest 90 days following the end of the term of the previous convocation, with the term starting with the first session of the new convocation, but no later than 28 days following the election. During the time when the National Assembly is dissolved, the President, in cooperation with the special committee of 20 members elected by the outgoing National Assembly has limited legislative rights, allowing them to pass simple legal provisions which expire if they are not approved on the first session of the new convocation of the National Assembly.
If the National Assembly is dissolved before the end of its term, the elections must be held 90 days after the dissolution at the latest and 28 days after the dissolution at the soonest, with at least 21 days between the time the date is announced by the President and the elections taking place.
Elections into the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of the Democratically-aligned nations of Argis are always held in conjunction with the elections into the National Assembly/the Grand National Assembly.
Elections of the President are scheduled by the President of the National Assembly so that the first round takes place 30 days before the end of the previous' president's term at the latest, with the primary election scheduled to be held from Monday to Friday of the next week in a time window so that there are at least 10 days left before the two pollings for campaigning and distribution of finalized ballot papers.
Referendums are held on a date scheduled by the President. This date is to be between 60 and 120 days after the referendum has been approved by the National Assembly and approved by the courts; if less than 6 months remain until the next regularily scheduled election, the two elections are held on the same day.
National Councils of the settlement areas are elected for 4 year terms, but the election days are decided by the respective head of the autonomy and not central organs as long as they take place over a period of two days starting on Friday.
Moreover, if multiple elections are held, the ballots are color coded using three different colors - White, Yellow and Blue, with various other black-and-white markings on the paper to ensure that even the colorblind do not accidentally invalidate their votes. Generally, the ballot papers can be separated into the groups thusly:
| White ballot paper | Yellow ballot paper | Blue ballot paper | |||||
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| No line | Single line |
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Two lines |
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CDANA emblem | 
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Voting from abroad
Voting from abroad is allowed both in person and by post (in contrast to voting in Walneria proper, where voting by post is not allowed). Counted are those votes cast by post that have been submitted to the post office on Thursday before the election at the latest. Voters may choose to override their vote by post by showing up and casting a vote in person. Elections take place at the following times:
- Countries where the local time is at or ahead of Walnerian time (GMT-1:00), i.e. GMT -1:00 to GMT +12:00: Voting in person is allowed starting on 14:00 on Tuesday and ending on 22:00 on Saturday local time with a gap over the nights between 22:00 and 6:00
- Countries where the local time is behind Walnerian time (GMT-1:00), i.e. GMT -12:00 to GMT -2:00: Voting in person is allowed starting on 14:00 on Monday and ending on 22:00 on Friday local time with a gap over the nights between 22:00 and 6:00
Voters from abroad are allowed to vote in the elections into the National Assembly, the Grand National Assembly, the President and in national referendums. Citizens abroad moreover elect the Consular Assembly.
And finally, citizens abroad may elect the Parliamentary Assembly of CDANA, even if they live in one of the 8 remaining member states of the Council of Democratic Nations of Argis.
For elections where multiple constituencies are being utilized, the votes from abroad are counted as if the polling stations were all located on the Rystmarkët Square in Tyrámen (a large square and a natural central point in the Central Borough of Tyrámen (where the seat of the President, the National Assembly and the Government are located), unless specified otherwise (such as is the case for single-member constituency no. 50 in the elections into the Grand National Assembly).
National Assembly
National Assembly is elected once every 4 years for 4 year terms. The right to be elected has every citizen aged at least 21 on the second day of the election. A total of 130 seats are elected using a proportional system. Early elections can be called, if:
- The President dissolves the National Assembly because it failed to convene at least once every three months
- The National Assembly dissolved with a 3/5 majority vote
- One or more people in the Presidium is convicted of treason, sabotage, espionage, war crimes, crimes against the teritorial integrity of Walneria, crimes against democracy and/or crimes against humanity
Following the 2023 electoral law referendum, the parties have the right to decide on which of the three permissible principles are they going to follow for the election (but they can choose at most one):
- A single party list at large with no more than 130 candidates
- Regional party lists in the 9 regions and 2 settlement areas with no more than a floor function of the 1.5 × number of candidates that would proportionally be apportioned to the said electoral regions under equal turnout in all electoral regions, but not less than 5 candidates total
- Regional party lists with the same rules and local party lists in the Special counties with no more than a floor function of the 1.5 × number of candidates that would proportionally be apportioned to the said electoral county under equal turnout in all electoral regions and counties, but not less than 2 candidates total
Seats are apportioned to each party based on the at large result using D'Hondt method, but seats are apportioned only to those parties which crossed the electoral threshold. Seats are then apportioned between electoral constituencies within every party that opted for regional and/or local lists using Sainte-Laguë method. Both the Ustokan minority and the Malenik minority have reserved at least 6 seats through the Minority Caucus.
There are multiple electoral thresholds, where at least one must be met in order to enter the National Assembly:
| Type of candidate | Threshold | |
|---|---|---|
| Single party | 4% at large | 8% in at least 3 regions |
| Alliance of 2 parties | 6% at large | 12% in at least 3 regions |
| Alliance of 3 parties | 8% at large | 16% in at least 3 regions |
| Alliance of 4 or more parties | 10% at large | 20% in at least 3 regions |
| Party representing a national minority | No threshold for the first seat, then to every other same as for a single party | |
| Independent candidate | ~0.769% at large[1] | |
The Constitution of Walneria demands, that at least 3 subjects (excluding minority parties unless they cross the threshold and independent politicians) be represented in the National Assembly, so if less than three parties cross the threshold, the thresholds are lowered until at least three parties have seats in the National Assembly. At-large thresholds are lowered by the same amount and thresholds on the regional level are lowered by an amount that is double that of the at-large threshold for each of the respective subject.
Moreover, the Constitution provides for a emergency break mechanism, where if a single running subject recieves 3/5 of seats or more, more seats are added for other parties to the convocation until they are proportionally just below the 3/5 threshold. This provision was introduced to ensure, that even if a party wins a supermajority, they do not have alone the power to impeach the President or influence the Constitutional Court. This has never happened in Walnerian history.
Party lists are semi-open and voters get to select a number of candidates using approval voting. During the election, votes are tallied and any candidate that recieves at least 1.5/𝓃 preferrential votes (where 𝓃 is the number of candidates on the list) gets to skip the order in which they appear and are placed on top. Any and all candidates that manage to skip the set-out order are then ordered by the total number of preferrential votes on top of the party list.
All independent candidates are listed on a ballot paper. When voting for an independent candidate, the voter marks the respective candidate (and only that single candidate) on the ballot paper as if it was a preferrential vote. After the votes are counted, the number of independent candidates that gets elected is determined by the multiples of the Hare quota that was given to independent list (i.e 1/130 of all votes for a single independent politician, 2/130 for two etc.). The respective candidates elected into the National Assembly are then selected from among the list using the preferrential votes by a system of single non-transferable vote.
Grand National Assembly
The election to the Grand National Assembly takes place once every 5 convocations of the National Assembly. A total of 250 members are elected in two rounds. Of those, 50 members are elected in single-member districts, while the remaining 200 are elected in multi-party districts.
Majoritarian election
50 members are elected in single member districts using a modified two round system.
In the first round, which takes place at the same time as the first round of the proportional election, voters choose from all candidates qualified to run for the election in the specific district they vote in using cumulative voting. The two highest rankind candidates continue to the second round, others are eliminated (but if there is a tie, every candidate tying for the first or second place continues to the second round).
In the second round, which takes place at the same time as the second round of the proportional election, each voter casts a single vote and the candidate with the most votes wins. If there is a tie, votes from the first round are added to the total. If the tie remains, then a lot is drawn to determine the winner.
Proportional election
200 members are elected using a system similar to that of the National Assembly, but using a modified two-round system.
In the first round, which takes place at the same time as the first round of the majoritarian election, all parties are running for 100 seats (1/2 of the proportional seats) using the same system as for the ordinary National Assembly, except that instead of 130 seats, only 100 are elected. Any party that crosses the electoral threshold qualifies to run in the second round, but any party that failed to meet it is disqualified from running. The rationale behind this is, that every voter should have the option to have at least one of the two votes they may potentially cast counted, and allowing parties that failed to qualify in the first election into the second may not allow it.
In the second round, which takes place at the same time as the second round of the majoritarian election, all qualified parties from the first round are running for the other 100 seats (1/2 of the proportional seats). This time, there is not electoral threshold, as all the running parties already qualified, but other than that, the system is identical to that of the first round.
In every round, the Ustokan and the Malenik minority have 5 seats reserved each.
President
The President of Walneria is elected using a modified two round system, which is by some scholars considered an impure three round system.
In order to qualify, candidates have to meet the following criteria:
- Be at least 40 years of age on the second day of the first round of the election
- Be a citizen of Walneria for at least 15 years
- Not be declared insane by a court of law
- Have spent at least 15 years since the last incarceration
- Be nominated in one of the following ways:
- Through a petition verifyingly signed by at least 50,000 citizens of Walneria
- Through a success in the primary elections
- By a nomination by at least 15 deputies of the National Assembly
- By being a former president who is still eligible to run
- By a nomination by a National Council of a settlement area
Primary elections
The voting begins with the primary election, usually held during a span of two weeks about two months before the first round of the actual election. Voters have the right to enter the municipal or city council in the place they reside in and request to cast votes for "primary candidates". At the same time, voters can request a "voter's permit", a temporary identification that qualifies the voter to vote outside of their usual polling station (removing them from the list of registered voters in the said area for the election and allowing them to cast their vote using the permit in a different polling station).
Voters select one or more of the candidates through the system of single non-transferable vote, any candidate that manages to gain the support of at least 5% of all eligible voters as of the last day of the two week polling period qualifies to run for the election.
Main elections
The main round of elections is held using a basic law over the period of two days. In the first round, voters vote for a single candidate using a system of single non-transferable vote, with the two most successful candidates continuing into the second round, which takes place on Friday and Saturday two weeks from the first round.
A candidate can be elected in the first round, if:
- They outright get more than 50% votes
- They get more than 45% of the votes and the second highest-polling candidate has at most 30% of the votes
More than two candidates tying for the first two places, all of the tying candidates continue into the second round, if the tie remains after a recount. Due to this, elections are delayed by two weeks. If one of the continuing candidates loses the eligibility to run, the next highest-ranking continues into the second round, which is delayed by two weeks.
In the second round, the candidate with most votes wins. If there is a tie, a recount is ordered. If even after a recount the tie remains, a lot is drawn to determine the winner.
Regional councils
The regional councils are regional assemblies that are elected to rule over the two highest-level subdivisions of Walneria - regions and Settlement areas. Assemblies of the ordinary regions are called "Regional Councils" and are elected on the first possible term in August once every 4 years.
The followint regional councils are elected:
| Council | Seat in | Members | Representing population |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bítënberk Regional Council
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Bítënberk | 55 voting | 1,176,100 |
 Cízaren Regional Council
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Cízaren | 55 voting | 1,169,100 |
 Égënáŕ Regional Council
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Égënáŕ | 55 voting 1 non-voting |
1,149,200 |
 Lómane Regional Council
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Lómane | 55 voting | 1,172,000 |
 Lubov Regional Council
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Lubov | 55 voting | 1,152,000 |
 Olmón Regional Council
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Olmón | 55 voting 1 non-voting |
1,165,000 |
 Ŕezënfeld Regional Council
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Ŕezënfeld | 55 voting 5 non-voting |
1,171,300 |
 Starbov Regional Council
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Starbov | 55 voting 3 non-voting |
981,220 |
Every regional council has 55 voting members elected by a modified D'Hondt method, where the first coefficient is increased to √2 and a 5% electoral threshold. Regions may choose to divide themselves into multiple electoral constituencies as long as:
- These constituencies elect at least 9 members
- These constituencies follow the boundaries of counties, statistical areas or notable landmarks
Furthermore, four of the regions add between 1 and 5 non-voting members that represent the minorities living in the region and have a consultative power. These members are not directly elected and are often ex officio members as heads of respective local national organizations.
Voters may give preferrential votes to various candidates on the party ballots using the same system as for the National Assembly of Walneria.
Regional Hóitmans
Each of the regions has a Regional Hóitman, a figure which concentrates the executive and representative rights of the respective region. Hóitmans are elected using first-past-the-post voting, with each party nominating a single hóitman, whose name is printed on the top of the ballot in a space that is separated by a horizontal line from the rest of the list, and can not be given preferrential vote since they are the only person on their own list. The party with the most votes's hóitman candidate becomes the hóitman for the term; no single person may serve as a hóitman for more than 2 consecutive terms and no more than 5 terms in total.
The lists can, during the registration process before the election, however, choose to add in a note that they support a candidate of a different list instead, in which case the votes of these lists are added to the total number of votes for the candidate they encouraged, which is on a different list.
National councils
The two autonomies of Walneria, the Ustokan Settlement Area and the Malenik Settlement Area have separately established local parliaments called the National Council (Ustokan: Národní rada, Malenik: Narodna rada). These chambers are directly elected for four year terms using the Scorporo system, where 60 members are elected by the D'Hondt and 15 more members are elected using first-past-the-post in single-member constituencies.
| Council | Seat in | Members | Representing population |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ustokan National Council
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Blanov | 75 voting | 912,800 |
 Malenik National Council
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Vojary | 75 voting | 872,300 |
While these are the main chambers and the primary bodies for autonomy, they are de jure only the lower houses. The upper houses, called the "Tribune of the Counties", are elected indirectly by electoral colleges that consists of parts of the municipal councils in the settlement areas proper and Special County Councils that represent the minority otuside of the settlement area. The tribunes have the right of suspensive veto, which can be overriden by an absolute majority of the members of the National Council.
| Council | Seat in | Members | Representing population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ustokan Tribune of the Counties | Blanov | 28 (Ustokan Settlement Area) 3 (Drakotín Special County) |
932,100 |
| Malenik Tribune of the Counties | Vojary | 27 (Malenik Settlement Area) 3 (Drakotín Special County) 1 (Tlucsná Special County) |
891,600 |
The National Councils mirror the functionality of the National Assembly and thus can be dissolved earlier. The Autonomy President has the right to pick the election day and coordinate indirect elections into the Tribune of the Counties.
Voters may give preferrential votes to various candidates on the party ballots using the same system as for the National Assembly of Walneria.
Autonomy Presidents
Each of the settlement areas has a Autonomy President, a figure which concentrates the executive and representative rights of the respective settlement area. Autonomy Presidents are elected using first-past-the-post voting, with each party nominating a single candidate, whose name is printed on the top of the ballot in a space that is separated by a horizontal line from the rest of the list, and can not be given preferrential vote since they are the only person on their own list. The party with the most votes's presidential candidate becomes the Autonomy President for the term; no single person may serve as a Autonomy President for more than 2 terms in total.
The lists can, during the registration process before the election, however, choose to add in a note that they support a candidate of a different list instead, in which case the votes of these lists are added to the total number of votes for the candidate they encouraged, which is on a different list.
County councils
The Special Counties in Walneria are specialized group of sub-regional municipalities that organize a joint government have been granted a sort of autonomy within their region and within Walneria, while still being officially a part of one or more regions. Depending on the reason these counties are established, county councils may be granted various rights depending on the focus of the autonomy (such as cultural and national autonomy, local nature preservation etc.).
Elections are always held in conjunction with the elections into the regional and municipal councils using the D'Hondt method.
| Council | Seat in | Members | Representing population |
|---|---|---|---|
 Graistrik Special County Council
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Graistrik | 45 voting | ~27,500 |
 Drakotín Special County Council
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Drakotín | 45 voting 1 non-voting |
~19,300 |
 Tlucsná Special County Council
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Tlucsná | 15 voting 5 non-voting |
~4,900 |
 Standing Committee of the Solinec Special County
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Solinec | 15 voting | ~13,100 |
 Kossut Special County Council
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Cilsdorf | 15 voting | ~12,300 |
 Aisënec Special County Council
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Aisënec | 15 voting | ~12,900 |
 Rósbrod Special County Council
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Rósbrod | 15 voting | ~13,700 |
 Brassikov Special County Council
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Brassikov | 15 voting | ~12,100 |
 Jóvóss Special County Council
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Jóvóss | 15 voting | ~12,500 |
| Consular Assembly of Walneria | Tyrámen | 15 voting 2 non-voting |
Unknown |
Drakotín grants a non-voting status to the current Governor of Losųvka, which is extraterritorially associated to the Drakotín Special County. Tlucsná Special County Council grants non-voting memberships to the five mayors of the municipalities that consistitute the Special County and the Consular Assembly grants ex officio non-voting membership for the Head of Diplomacy and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Voters may give preferrential votes to various candidates on the party ballots using the same system as for the National Assembly of Walneria.
Because of the elections being held in conjunction with other elections, ballots are printed on blue paper and marked with two black stripes.
Special County Hóitmans
Each of the special counties has a Special County Hóitman, a figure which concentrates the executive and representative rights of the respective county. Hóitmans are elected using first-past-the-post voting, with each party nominating a single hóitman, whose name is printed on the top of the ballot in a space that is separated by a horizontal line from the rest of the list, and can not be given preferrential vote since they are the only person on their own list. The party with the most votes's hóitman candidate becomes the hóitman for the term; no single person may serve as a hóitman for more than 2 consecutive terms and no more than 5 terms in total.
The lists can, during the registration process before the election, however, choose to add in a note that they support a candidate of a different list instead, in which case the votes of these lists are added to the total number of votes for the candidate they encouraged, which is on a different list.
Municipal councils
Municipal councils are elected using two different systems, depending on the status of the settlements: non-statutory cities, towns and villages elect their representatives using panachage while statutory cities elect their representatives using party-list proportional representation.
Both of these systems use the D'Hondt method and approval voting for preferrential votes. Statutory cities may choose to implenent threshold of up to 5%. Statutory cities may also devolve some authority to local boroughs, whose assemblies are to be elected using the same system as non-statutory cities, towns and villages.
The number of members in the councils are dependent on the decision of the previous council and the population, and by law has to be odd (Tyrámen is defined by a seperate law):
| Population | Municipality | Borough | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-statutory | Statutory | ||
| ≤300 | odd 5 to 15 | — | odd 3 to 15 |
| 301-500 | odd 5 to 15 | ||
| 501-1,000 | odd 7 to 15 | ||
| 1,001-3,000 | odd 7 to 17 | ||
| 3,001-5,000 | odd 11 to 25 | ||
| 5,001-10,000 | odd 9 to 25 | ||
| 10,001-20,000 | odd 15 to 35 | ||
| 20,001-50,000 | odd 25 to 45 | odd 13 to 35 | |
| 50,001-100,000 | odd 25 to 45 | ||
| 100,001-200,000 | — | odd 35 to 55 | odd 21 to 39 |
| >200,000 | odd 45 to 61 | odd 25 to 45 | |
| Tyrámen | odd 55 to 70 | ||
Voters may give preferrential votes to various candidates on the party ballots using the same system as for the National Assembly of Walneria.
Because of the elections being held in conjunction with other elections, ballots are printed on yellow paper and marked with a single black stripe, while the city borough ballots are to be printed on blue paper and marked with two black stripes.
Mayors and Primátors
Each of the muncipalities has a figure which concentrates the executive and representative rights of the respective municipality. This position is called a "Mayor" for non-statutory cities, towns and villages or a "Primátor" for statutory cities. Primátors are elected using first-past-the-post voting using the same system as hóitmans of special counties and regions, while mayors are elected using a similar system with each party nominating a single candidate, whose name is printed on the top of the specific ballot section in a space that is separated by a horizontal line from the rest of the list. Voters may give their marks to any of the candidates on the ballot they opt to vote in (thus statutory cities uses a first-past-the-post system due to party lists while smaller settlements have an approval voting system). The party with the most votes's primátor/mayor candidate becomes the primátor/mayor for the term; no single person may serve as a primátor/mayor for more than 2 consecutive terms.
The lists can, during the registration process before the election, however, choose to add in a note that they support a candidate of a different list instead, in which case the votes of these lists are added to the total number of votes for the candidate they encouraged, which is on a different list.
Referenda
According to the Constitution of Walneria, referendums can be called to consult the population on all matters except those regarding declaration of war, taxation policy, privatization of state assets, and those which would strip away human rights as defined in the Walnerian Charter of Human Rights from citizens and any resident (not only citizens of Walneria), and must be approved by the Supreme Constitutional Court. Moreover, before a referendum regarding electoral law, institutional law or dimission can be submitted to the population, it must be approved independently by the Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Auditory Court as well.
In order to start a referendum, an absolute majority of members of the National Assembly of Walneria must vote in favor and, all the questions must be reviewed by the relevant courts. After the courts submit their opinions (which are regarded as priorities and if no work is done by the courts in the month following the decision of the National Assembly, consent is implied), the President is to pick a set of two days of which the first is to be a labor day and the second is to be a day off, that is to be between 60 and 120 days after the referendum has been approved by the National Assembly and no sooner than 60 days from the time the working approved by the courts; if less than 6 months remain until the next regularily scheduled election, the two elections are held on the same day.
Following the 2023 Electoral law referendum, new referendums are to be considered legally binding, if one of the options won an absolute majority of the vote, this option has the support of at least 30% of the electorate (regardless of turnout, at least 30% of all registered voters must be in favor) and no other option had a support that is equal to at least 90% to that of the winning option; else the referendum is considered consultative.
Because of the referendum possibly being held in conjunction with other elections, ballots are printed on yellow paper and marked with a single black stripe.
Parliamentary Assembly of CDANA
The Walnerian ordinary members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of the Democratically-aligned nations of Argis are elected on party lists using the Sainte-Laguë method. The electoral law guarantees representation to the Ustokan and Malenik national minorities, which is why every party list must include at least one Ustokan and at least on Malenik on it. If the minority is not represented based on the apportionment through the Sainte-Laguë system, the last elected member (unless they represent the other minority) is replaced with the minority representative from the same ballot paper (if both minorities are underrepresented, the one minority candidate with more preferrential votes).
Elections to the CDANA Parliamentary Assembly are always held in conjunction with the elections to the National Assembly, regardless if the term was shortened or not, and they are to be printed on blue paper and marked with the CDANA emblem to ensure, that it is clear they are different ballots from that of those to the National Assembly.
See also
- Politics of Walneria
- Government of Walneria
- National Assembly of Walneria
- Special Counties in Walneria
References
- ↑ This value is calculated as the number of votes divided by the number of seats, i.e. 1/130 of all votes. 130)100% is equal to roughly 0.769%, i.e. the Hare quota
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