Alnating of the United Jarldoms
Alnating | |
|---|---|
| Nasjonalforsamling | |
 Coat of Arms of the Alnating | |
 Flag of the Alnating | |
| Type | |
| Type | Lower House |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 639 320 for a majority |
 | |
Political groups | Government (255)
Regionalist Bloc (79)
Opposition (237)
Unaffiliated (68) |
Length of term | 3 years |
| Elections | |
| Mixed electoral system, 439 seats elected by various methods varying by jarldom and 200 seats elected by national proportional vote | |
Last election | 2022 |
Next election | 2025 |
| Meeting place | |
.jpg) | |
| Alnating Building Alna, Tevitheim | |
The Alnating (Tronder: Alnatinget) is the lower house of the Nasjonalforsamling, with the Jarlaråd being the upper house. Together, they compose the national bicameral legislature of Tevitheim. The Alnating is the more powerful of the two houses, being charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills; and it has the ability to override the Jarlaråd's veto in certain situations. The Alnating also controls the budget and taxation policy of Tevitheim, can impeach federal officers, and elects the grand chancellor if no candidate receives a majority of votes, though several agreements have rendered this last power obsolete. The Alnating has 639 members, who are given the title of alnatingsrepresentant.
The Alnating is elected every three years by Tevitheimer citizens aged 18 and older. Elections used a mixed electoral system. Of the 639 members of the Alnating, 439 are elected by a variety of methods that vary by jarldom, ranging from single-member plurality voting to multi-member ranked choice voting. 200 are elected by a national proportional vote. The Alnating can be forcefully called into session by the Oberjarl of Tevitheim, but may not be dissolved until writs of election are issued for the next election. By law, neither the oberjarl nor the grand chancellor may enter into the Alnating without the written permission of the Alnating's president. In addition, only the presidential guard is entitled to carry weapons inside the building.
The presiding officer of the Alnating is formally the President of the Alnating, currently Dagfinn Reistad of the Liberal Democratic Party. The president is elected by the Alnating and thus is usually a representative of the largest faction or coalition. As the president is a relatively powerless position, serving as an impartial chair during proceedings, opposition parties usually allow minority governments to appoint a president. For example, in 2022, despite the governing coalition having 334 seats, 594 of the 639 members voted to confirm Reistad as president. The actual legislative and executive business is managed and scheduled by the Alnating's governing leader, called a majority leader if his caucus holds a majority.
There are several ways to refer to the majority and minority groups of the Alnating. If the plurality or majority faction is aligned with the grand chancellor, it is called a government (if a plurality) or a governing majority (if a majority) while the opposition is simply termed "the opposition". If the majority or plurality faction is aligned against the grand chancellor, it is termed a "majority opposition" while factions aligned with the grand chancellor are termed "executive opposition".
After the 2022 elections 13 parties were represented in the Alnating. A caucus consisting of five parties (Social Union, Liberal Democratic, Problem Solvers, Conservative, and Freedom) along with 16 independents was formed. With 255 seats, the coalition had less than the 320 seats required for a majority. The Bylund administration formed a budgetary coalition, similar to confidence and supply in parliamentary systems, with the center-right Regionalist Bloc, whose 79 seats would allow the government to pass budget (supply) bills, though individual policy bills would need to be negotiated individually.
At the current time, the primary opposition consists of the Republicans, Progressive-Greens, and United Left (along with 8 independents) for a total of 237 seats. In addition the official opposition, there are two unaffiliated parties; the far-right Nationals with 35 seats and the far-left Worker's Party with 33 seats. While the National Party has attempted to join governing coalitions in the past, it has been denied. In contrast, the Worker's Party refuses to join any coalition government.