Politics of Toubaze
Politics of Toubaze | |
|---|---|
 Flag of Toubaze | |
| Polity type | Unitary parliamentary republic |
| Legislative branch | |
| Name | National Assembly |
| Type | Unicameral |
| Meeting place | Palace of the Republic |
| Presiding officer | Agra Jol, Speaker of the National Assembly |
| Executive branch | |
| Head of State | |
| Title | President |
| Currently | Kelco Noim |
| Appointer | Presidential Assembly |
| Head of Government | |
| Title | Prime Minister |
| Currently | Resna Tenili |
| Appointer | National Assembly |
| Judicial branch | |
| Name | Judiciary of Toubaze |
| Courts | Supreme Court Constitutional Court |
Politics in Toubaze work in accordance with the Constitution, from 1945, it establishes a unitary republic with a representative parliamentary system. The executive power in the country lies with the Prime Minister, who is Head of Government, the President, who is Head of State, only has power during a state of emergency. The legislative power is held by the National Assembly and its 225 members from eight political parties. The current Prime Minister of Toubaze is Resna Tenili, with the President being Kelco Noim.
History
Early Democracy
Democracy came to Toubaze after the 1873 Relsessit Revolt. The Constitution of the same year established a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral system, the upper house being the Estate Assembly and the lower house being the Popular Assembly. This was changed in 1897 with the removal of the Estate Assembly, mostly controlled by the former nobility and upper class, as well as an introduction of a proportional representation voting system. The new voting system lead to new parties entering the new, unicameral National Assembly in the next year's election. Women's suffrage was introduced in 1910 at the height of what is known as The Progressive Era, where many progressive initiatives were taken to uplift the lower classes of society by the government lad by the People's Party, a predecessor to the modern day party Progressive Alliance. In 1915, a coup lead by the military, backed by conservatives, the upper class and welcomed by King Enhala XVII marks the violent end of The Progressive Era. The new military leadership set out to rewrite the constitution to give back power to the upper classes.
Controlled Democracy
Following the coup in 1915, the new constitution backed by the military restored the upper house and changed the electoral threshold to 8%, doubling the previous 4% threshold among other changes aimed at making it harder for progressive and liberal elements to gain power. The Kingdom was onwards very unstable, and its bureaucracy was very inefficient and slow due to direct government approval needed for a majority of things. Combined with a stagnant economy due to slow action on part of the government when dealing with fiscal problems, helped anti-royalist movements to grow rapidly within the country. This all came to a head in 1942, also known as the Republican Revolution. King Enhala XVII declared the 1942 election void as the conservative party for the first time became a minority and meant they could no longer keep hold of government control. This lead to mass protests, general strikes and riots all over Toubaze. It all culminated with pro-republican militia forces storming Taubon and declaring the Republic of Toubaze and an overthrow of the monarchy. Civil War was narrowly avoided as the military high command had been infiltrated by anti-royalists who sabotaged their ability to react as well as sympathies among the common soldiers for the Revolution. The Constitution of 1945, still being in effect today, reversed many of the changed made by the 1915 Constitution and established a unicameral system with the National Asssembly as part of a new unitary parliamentary republic, the Republic of Toubaze.
Republican Era
After the Revolution, the progressive government established, among other things, a social security system for all citizens. The decades immediately following the Revolution are often considered The Second Progressive Era. It is also during this period, in 1949, Toubaze became a signatory of the Ardgan Declaration. The 1950s saw large economic growth for Toubaze attributed to the economic policies of the Liberal Party at the time. The Progressive Alliance and Liberal Party would be fighting for the Prime Minister position for most of the 60s as the two largest parties. When the Great Recession hit in 1977, the National Party enjoyed the position of largest party until 1984.
Modern Day
In 1990, the Grand Election took place. Often considered a turning point in modern Toubaze history it saw huge voter migrations as well as the amount of parties in the National Assembly doubling to eight. The new building for the National Assembly, The Palace of the Republic was also completed symbolizing a more physical change to the political scene as well.
Political System
The 1945 Constitution lays out the political system of a unitary parliamentary republic, with the President serving as Head of State and the Prime Minister being Head of Government. The legislature is the 225 seat National Assembly which is elected once every 4 years, unless an election is called earlier with combined agreement of both the President and Prime Minister. The threshold to enter the National Assembly is 3% and seats are assigned based on proportional representation. The Constitutional Court can be called if a constitutional matter within a case is in question, the judges of the court appointed by the National Assembly, candidates are put forth by an independent committee.
In local elections for Regional Assemblies and Municipal Councils, the voting age is 16 compared to 18 for general elections.
Political Parties
Toubaze has a multi-party system. Nine parties are represented in the National Assembly, while an additional two were qualified for the 2021 general election but didn't win any seats. The four oldest parties are the Liberal Party, the National Party and the Centre Liberals. If you count the People's Party before the 1915 Coup, the Progressives are also one of the oldest parties.
Recent elections have shown a change in favour of newer parties like New Centre. This was especially the case in the 1990 Election which saw four new parties get seats in the National Assembly, doubling the number of parties in the National Assembly to eight parties.
No two parties have exactly the same organization. It is however common for a party to have an annual convention which approves manifestos and elects party chairmen, a board of leaders, an assembly of representatives, and a number of local branches with their own organization.
Administrative divisions
Toubaze is divided into 16 regions, which are further divided into 53 municipalities. The governing body of a region is the Regional Assembly, which is elected for a five-year term. The Regional Assemblies are headed by regional chairmen, who are elected by the Regional Assemblies. This is also the structure for the municipalities, just with Municipal Councils and mayors instead. For the regional and municipal elections, the voting age is 16, 2 years younger than for the general elections.
Table over Area of Responsibilities
| State | Region | Municipality |
|---|---|---|
| Defense | Healthcare | Eldercare |
| Universities | Secondary education | Elementary schools |
| Highways | Regional roads | Local roads |
| Central administration | Enviornmental supervision | Utilities |
| Museums and theaters | Public tranportation | Daycare |
| Postal service | Vocational schools | Kindergartens |