Delkoran Federal Parliament
Delkoran Federal Parliament Delkorsk Føderaleting | |
|---|---|
| 48th Føderaleting | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | Chamber of Nobles Chamber of Representatives |
| Leadership | |
Monarch | |
Lord Speaker of the Chamber of Nobles | Lady Dædra af Alvenbrand (Kon) |
Speaker of the Chamber of Representatives | Tor Henriksen (L) |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 700 consisting of 500 MPs 200 Noble Delegates |
 | |
Chamber of Representatives political groups | Government (314) Liberal (134) National Labor (123) Greens (57) Official Opposition (145) Conservative (94) Agrarian (51) Other Opposition (41) Alliance (19) Radical Front (14) LVP (5) Free Republican (3) |
 | |
Chamber of Nobles political groups | Conservative (54) Liberal (46) National Labor (42) Agrarian (35) Greens (8) Independent (15) |
| Elections | |
Chamber of Representatives voting system | Open list proportional representation |
Chamber of Nobles voting system | |
Chamber of Representatives last election | 5 March 2018 |
Chamber of Representatives next election | 7 March 2022 or earlier |
| Meeting place | |
| Hyengaard Palace, Norenstal, Delkora | |
| Website | |
| www.føderaleting.del | |
The Delkoran Federal Parliament (Delkoran: Føderaleting, lit. "Federal Thing" or "Federal Assembly") is the bicameral legislative body of the Kingdom of Delkora, consisting of the Chamber of Representatives and the Chamber of Nobles. The Chamber of Representatives, the lower house, consists of 500 members who are elected from multi-member districts using party-list proportional representation for four year terms. The chancellor and other ministers of the Federal Cabinet are constitutionally required to be members of this chamber, and must retain the confidence of a majority of its members to remain in office. The Chamber of Nobles consists of 200 peers, including one delegation of 25 from each of the Kingdom's seven states who are appointed by the state's high lord on the advice of the state government, and an additional 25 who are appointed by the national monarch on the advice of the Federal Cabinet. Members of the Chamber of Nobles possess life tenure subject to mandatory retirement at age 70.
History
The Chamber of Representatives traces its origins back to the House of Commoners formed by King Fjǫrnir IV in 1732 in response to growing demands for representation from rural peasants and urban merchants. The house was comprised of delegates elected from the rural varden and and the larger towns and cities, but had little power and served mainly as an advisory body for the monarch. It could propose legislation, but the monarch had full authority to veto its proposals.
The Chamber of Nobles, meanwhile, traces its origins back to the High Lord Council established by the Peace of Aberald in 1385. The Council served as a representative body for the Kingdom's five high lords, who would send members of their noble courts as delegates to propose laws to the King on their behalf and resolve disputes with other high lords. Although this body was reconstituted as the Chamber of Nobles following the Civil War, it continued to function in more or less the same way as the Council had until the ratification of the High Lords Amendment in 1885, which reduced the high lords to constitutional monarchs who could only act on the advice of their state government.
Elections
Elections to the Chamber of Representatives are required to occur at least every four years. MPs are elected from multi-member constituencies on the basis of party-list proportional representation. All Delkoran citizens aged 17 and older residing in the Kingdom are eligible to vote in elections to the Federal Parliament. When casting a ballot, voters are presented with a screen displaying the parties vying for seats in their constituency, and may click on each one to review the candidates on the party's electoral list. After choosing a party, the voter may cast a single vote for either the party itself (indicating no preference for a particular candidate) or for a particular candidate on the party's list. After all votes are calculated, the party's candidates who receive the most individual votes are the ones seated from the list, with the party's initial ranking only potentially serving as a tie-breaker. Because candidates placed at the top of a list are typically party leadership or high-ranking members of influential committees, parties urge their supporters in each constituency to vote for the party's top candidate to ensure they are seated, rather than simply voting for the party. Each party receives seats in a constituency in proportion to the total number of votes it receives, although a party must win at least 5% of the vote in a given constituency in order to be eligible for seats there.
Candidates for the Chamber of Representatives must be at least 17 years old upon taking office, Delkoran citizens, and must reside in the constituency they seek to represent. In order to sit in the Chamber of Nobles, a person must be at least 30 years old upon taking office, a Delkoran citizen, reside in the state they will represent, and possess a peerage. Historically, the peerage requirement restricted membership in the chamber to members of the upper class who had inherited peerages, although there has been an increasing tendency in recent years for state governments to select candidates who do not possess peerages and then award them one prior to their formal appointment to enable them to sit in the chamber, effectively rendering the peerage requirement immaterial.
State opening
The State Opening of Parliament traditionally occurs the first Monday after an election, by which time a government has almost always been formed due to the practice of coalition agreements being negotiated prior to elections. The newly-constituted Chamber of Representatives assembles at 9:00 AM, with the first order of business being the election of the speaker. Once a speaker is elected and administered the oath of office by the president of the Federal Constitutional Court, the chamber proceeds to a vote on a chancellor candidate. After the vote, the monarch formally appoints the nominee, after which they are administered the oath of office as follows: "I {Name} do solemnly swear/affirm that I will at all times act in the best interests of the Delkoran people and in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom, and that I will renounce the powers of my office upon the expiration of my mandate." The monarch then passes the Sword of Illyar to the chancellor, signifying the transfer of executive power from the monarch to the elected government, at which point the new chancellor is formally appointed.
The monarch then gives the Royal Address, a nonpartisan speech intended to signify national unity. To maintain his or her status as a constitutional monarch, the King or Queen does not advocate for specific policies, although some monarchs have used the Royal Address as a way to put issues on the national agenda, such as when Haldor VII called attention to the issue of climate change at the 1987 State Opening of Parliament. After the Royal Address, the monarch exits the chamber, at which point the chancellor gives an inaugural address outlining the government's objectives.
Composition and function
Chamber of Representatives
Each Delkoran Parliament lasts for a period of no more than four years, with each year designated as a session. Members of both chambers meet year-round, with a two month recess from June 1st to August 1st as well as a shorter recess from 1 December to 2 January. By law, elections for the Chamber of Representatives always occur on the first Monday of March following the close of the fourth session of Parliament, unless early elections are scheduled. After the election, it is usually clear which parties will constitute the government due to the practice of negotiating coalition agreements before elections. After a speaker is appointed, the majority coalition presents its candidate for chancellor for a vote before the Chamber. After the nominee is approved, the monarch is constitutionally obligated to appoint him or her. The newly installed government has until the start of the coming fiscal year to pass a budget. If a budget cannot be agreed to by this time, the chancellor must either resign or dissolve the Chamber and call a new election.
The Delkoran Constitution specifies that the government is responsible to the Chamber of Representatives, which can oust it through a vote of no confidence. A motion for a vote of no confidence is typically introduced by the opposition to signal that it believes the government lacks the support of the Chamber. Conversely, the government can move for a vote of confidence to test its support. Sometimes, a government will attach a vote of confidence to a key piece of legislation to discourage defections among members of parties in its coalition. For both types of motions, the government is toppled unless it receives the support of a majority (not just a plurality) of all MPs, meaning abstentions are effectively votes against the government. If the government wins a confidence vote, the Executive Cabinet remains in place. If it is defeated, the entire Executive Cabinet is obligated to resign, in which case the incumbent coalition has ten days to nominate a new Chancellor who can form a government that commands the confidence of the Chamber, or call a new election, which must be held within 10 days. If a new government cannot be formed within the ten day time frame after a Cabinet's resignation, the Chamber of Representatives is automatically dissolved and a new election must be held within twenty days.
Chamber of nobles
Unlike the Chamber of Representatives, the Chamber of Nobles cannot be dissolved under any circumstances. Of the chamber's 200 members, 175 are appointed by the high lords of the Delkoran states, while the remaining 25 are appointed by the national monarch on the advice of the Federal Cabinet. Nobles delegates possess life tenure subject to mandatory retirement at age 70, although they can be removed from office for certain serious offenses. While the Chamber of Representatives is highly partisan and adversarial, the Chamber of Nobles functions as a more collegial, technocratic body that is understood as providing a sober second-thought to legislation that passes the lower chamber, rather than as an extension of the partisanship that occurs there. As a result of longstanding convention, delegates rarely vote against government legislation that passes the Chamber of Representatives unless they have serious, nonpartisan concerns about it. Accordingly, delegates are grouped by state delegation rather than party caucus. Although delegates are appointed by state governments and understood to be representatives of their respective states, they have a high degree of independence when voting, and are not obliged or expected to take voting instructions from their state governments. Appointment to the chamber is seen as a great honor typically reserved for highly-respected senior statesmen and experienced bureaucrats who command great public confidence. Moreover, these individuals have usually reached the end of their political careers and are not likely to seek another public office after leaving the chamber, and are thus highly insulated from partisan political pressure.
Legislative process
The Delkoran Constitution requires that all legislation originate in the Chamber of Representatives. Most bills are introduced by the cabinet minister responsible for the relevant policy area, although any member can write and introduce legislation. After a bill is submitted to the clerk of the Chamber of Representatives, it is reviewed by the speaker, who then assigns it to a committee. The committees thoroughly examine the legislation and often call on outside experts to give testimony. Bills are often amended extensively at this stage, although these amendments can be struck by the full chamber. By law, all committee meetings and hearings must be open to the public unless they deal with classified information. After analyzing and amending the bill, the committee prepares a report and then votes on whether to advance the bill to the full chamber or table it.
The rules of the Chamber of Representatives require that all bills advanced out of committee undergo three readings before being voted on unless a majority of members vote to waive one or more of the readings. Each reading is followed by a pre-determined amount of floor debate in which members discuss the merits of the legislation and propose amendments. The government and official opposition are each granted an equal amount of speaking time. Often, the chair of the committee which considered the legislation is the first to speak on the government side, although they typically speak only briefly and yield most of their time to rank and file members. Similarly, party leaders on the official opposition side generally avoid monopolizing speaking time. Out of courtesy, members of parties not affiliated with either the official opposition or the government are often yielded to by which ever side they intend to vote with on a particular bill. After the third reading, any member can introduce a motion to end debate and call to previous question, bringing the bill up for a vote before the full chamber. Alternatively, a motion to table can be adopted if the chamber determines that the final vote should be postponed. Most legislation requires a simple majority of members present and voting to pass the final floor vote.
Legislation then proceeds to the Chamber of Nobles, where the Lord Speaker assigns it to a committee, which conducts a process similar to the Chamber Representatives. If advanced by the committee, there is an intermediate stage preceding floor debate in which each state's delegation consults with its state's government and provides its assessment of the bill either in person or in writing. State governments may choose to issue statements in support of or in opposition to a bill, and these statements are typically read on the floor by the state's most senior delegate. After the consulting phase, the bill is scheduled for floor debate. Unlike in the Chamber of Representatives, there are no strict rules concerning the number of readings a bill must undergo or how long debate should last, and these guidelines are instead established through informal agreements. Time is equally divided between each state's delegation. Debate continues until a motion to end debate and call to previous question is adopted by a majority vote.
If approved without amendments, the bill proceeds to the monarch, who gives it the royal assent. The bill is then countersigned by the chancellor and published in the Federal Gazette, at which point it becomes law. If the Chamber of Nobles approves a bill with amendments, it returns to the Chamber of Representatives, which can either agree to them or strike them by a simple majority. If the Chamber of Nobles votes against a bill, it is returned to the lower chamber, typically with a message outlining objections. The Chamber of Representatives can nonetheless send the bill to the monarch for the royal assent by a simple majority vote, meaning the upper house is effectively unable to exercise absolute veto power over legislation. It can however, use various tactics to delay a particular bill for as long as 60 days, such as holding extensive committee hearings or drawing out debate. After 60 days, however, the Chamber of Representatives can pass a retrieval motion by a simple majority vote, which brings the bill back to the lower house where it can then be sent to the monarch. These delaying tactics cannot be exercised with revenue and appropriations bills, however, which the Chamber of Nobles is only allowed 10 days to consider. If no vote has taken place within this timeframe, the bill returns to the Chamber of Representatives, where it can then be sent for the royal assent.
Although most normal legislation requires a simple majority of members present and voting in both chambers, treaties must be approved by a 2/3 majority of all members in both chambers, and the Chamber of Representatives cannot override the opposition of the Chamber of Nobles. Constitutional amendments similarly require a 2/3 majority of all members in both chambers.
Powers
The Delkoran Constitution grants the Federal Parliament the exclusive authority to pass laws concerning foreign affairs, national defense, foreign and interstate commerce, currency regulation, immigration and nationality, elections, and protection of the environment. State parliaments, meanwhile, have the exclusive authority to make laws governing trade within their borders, culture, education, local government, and rules regarding the administration of their governments. All powers not specifically granted to the states under the Constitution are held by the state government. As a result of the division of powers between the federal and state governments, as well as restrictions on government power outlined in Chapter 9 of the Delkoran Constitution, the Federal Parliament does not operate under the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. These provisions are consistently upheld by the Federal Constitutional Court, which has the power to strike down acts of Parliament as unconstitutional.
Committees
Both chambers utilize standing and study committees which are formed and governed by rules specific to each chamber. Standing committees are permanent and remain in place when a new Parliament convenes. They have jurisdiction over broad policy areas, and thus most legislation is referred to them. Study committees, meanwhile, are formed by chamber leadership on an ad hoc basis to address emerging or particularly specialized issues. With some exceptions, they generally disband at the close of the Parliament in which they were formed. Joint committees consisting of members from both chambers are occasionally formed to deal with highly important or visible issues.
Chamber of Representatives Standing Committees
- Agriculture
- Banking
- Budget
- Commerce, Industry, and Trade
- Constitution and the Judiciary
- Defense
- Diversity and Inclusiveness
- Education
- Energy
- Ethics
- Environment and Natural Resources
- Foreign Affairs
- Health
- Immigration
- Infrastructure
- Intelligence and Domestic Security
- Labor and Pensions
- Parliamentary Procedures
- Public Industries
- Public Safety
- Royal Affairs and the Nobility
- Science and Technology
- Social Welfare
- State and Municipal Government
Chamber of Nobles standing committees
- Constitutional Matters
- Domestic Affairs
- Economics and Trade
- Foreign Affairs and Defense
- Noble Titles and Orders
- Oversight
- Priesthood
- State Government Affairs
Joint committees
- Climate Change
- National Security
- Human Rights
- International Aid and Development
Members
The Chamber of Representatives has traditionally had a fairly even gender ratio. The 47th Parliament has been notable in that it is the most diverse in the Kingdom's history, with 15% of its members identifying as non-ethnic Delkorans. The average age of MPs is 37.
Compensation and privileges
Members of the Chamber of Representatives receive a yearly salary of 150,000 NSD, while cabinet ministers receive 200,000 NSD and the Chancellor receives 250,000 NSD. Chamber of Nobles delegates receive a yearly salary of ⊻25,000. Members of both chambers also receive per diem compensation to cover housing and transportation costs while Parliament is in session. Especially in the Chamber of Representatives, party caucuses rely heavily on staff that includes lawyers, legislative aids, policy advisers, and interns.
Members of both chambers enjoy a number of privileges under Delkoran law, including immunity from prosecution while Parliament is in session, except when in the commission of a major offense. Additionally, MPs and delegates cannot be prosecuted for anything said on the floor of either chamber. Neither chamber has many restrictions on unparliamentary language, although the Chamber of Representatives maintains a strict requirement that remarks given during floor debate be germane to the legislation being considered.
List of constituencies by state
Norenstal (46 seats)
- Norenstal-North (21)
- Norenstal-South (25)
Cybria (155 seats)
- Northern Cybria (15)
- Western Cybria (23)
- Middle Cybria (28)
- Upper East Cybria (17)
- Lower East Cybria (19)
- Southern Cybria (21)
- Greater Darzenbrom (32)
Faurelia (128 seats)
- Northern Faurelia (11)
- Western Faurelia (18)
- Gothendral-West (23)
- Gothendral-East (18)
- Greater Jaerevik (20)
- Southern Faurelia (12)
- Daegenfjor Peninsula (25)
Bandorel (75 seats)
- Northern Bandorel (15)
- Bandorel Midlands (12)
- Eastern Bandorel (18)
- Greater Abenvard (16)
- Southwestern Bandorel (14)
Vassengaard (63 seats)
- Greater Tordenhelm (25)
- Western Vassengaard (17)
- Grymvarenland (10)
- Southern Vassengaard (11)
Norvia (28 seats)
- Upper Norvia (16)
- Lower Norvia (12)
Lebøvenland (5 seats)
- Lebøvenland At-Large (5)