Rūnanga
Rūnanga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | May 16, 1940 |
| Leadership | |
Speaker | Hone Lamartine since May 2019 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 30 |
 | |
Political groups | Rangatiratanga: 18 seats Democratic Alternative: 6 seats Alliance: 2 seats Independents: 4 seats
|
| Elections | |
| Multi-seat constituency | |
Last election | 2019 Meridian general election |
| Meeting place | |
| Kōuranui | |
The Rūnanga of the Meridian Islands (Te Reo Haukāinga: Te Rūnanga o Te-Kupenga-a-Tūmatauenga, Gaullican: La Rounanga des Iles méridiennes) is the unicameral legislature of the Meridian Islands. It is composed of 30 members, 22 of whom are directly elected by the population from several constituencies using a single non-transferable vote system. The remaining eight seats are granted to the Ariki of each of the recognised Iwi of the Meridian Islands. It is headed by the Speaker of the House, who is chosen by the Rūnanga.
History
During the period of first contact with Euclea, the Hau Kāinga were organised by Iwi and Hapū and had no overall organisational system. Within Hapū, the power would usually be exerted by a singular Rangatira, though this was usually done with the consultation of the elders and experts (tohunga). With the signing of the Kaitangata Accord, the chieftains agreed to create an assembly where they would make decisions in order to better represent their people, which was named the Rūnanga of 1763. This assembly met every three years, or whenever called by the chieftains in response to developments.
In the Functionalist era, the Rūnanga was disestablished and replaced by a governor general.