National Council (Sawbrania)
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National Council of the Republic of Sawbrania Nacional Consil ꜵv dhe Republik ꜵv Ssavbrʎnie | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the Parliament | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Preceded by | |
| Leadership | |
Chairman of the Council of the Republic | Ludvʎg Welle, SRP |
Chairman of the Council of the People | Sstefən Colonel, SRP |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 170 members 60 representants of the Republic 110 representants of the people |
 | |
Council of the Republic political groups | Government (45) |
 | |
Council of the People political groups | Government (79)
Vacant (3)
|
Joint committees | Caretaker Council |
Length of term | 5 years |
| Elections | |
| Indirect (26) Imperiali quota (24) Appointment (7) Two-round system (3) | |
| First-past-the-post (70) D'Hondt method (40) | |
Council of the Republic first election | 20 June 1997 |
Council of the People first election | 20 June 1997 |
Council of the Republic last election | 29 May 2020 |
Council of the People last election | 29 May 2020 |
Council of the Republic next election | Before 29 May 2025 |
Council of the People next election | Before 29 May 2025 |
| Redistricting | Every 20 years (2040) |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Palace of the Republic, Levia | |
 | |
| Palace of the People, Levia | |
The National Council of the Republic of Sawbrania (Sawbranian: Nacional Consil ꜵv dhe Republik ꜵv Ssavbrʎnie) is the bicameral parliament of the Republic of Sawbrania. It consists of the Council of the Republic (Sawbranian: Consil ꜵv dhe Republik) and Council of the People (Sawbranian: Consil ꜵv dhe Folks). Some people raise issues with how the system on elections and the functionality of the parliament is established, sometimes classifying the legislature as a toy parliament.
History
Early assemblies
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Post-enlightenment
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Revolutionary assembly
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Republican parliament
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Communist legislature
Following the Second Sawbranian Revolution, leading to the establishment of a left-leaning military junta, elections were held. The KPS-led National Front of Sawbrania won a decisive victory, though historians have deemed these fraudulent owing the the junta's backing of the National Front.
The new government, established by a coalition of the Communist and Socialist party, quickly moved to ban the opposition and installed a strict rule, in which the power was split among them. In a controversial 1950 referendum, the Senate was disbanded and a strict unicameral parliament was created (with the lower house being renamed to "National Assembly").
This new house had 200 seats, which were elected using First-past-the-post from 200 constituencies. Although only the joint ballot of the National Front (which was the official name of the coalition created by the Communist Party, Socialist Party and their allies, which run as non-partisan), there could technically run more candidates in one district, in theory creating limited inter-partisan political competition. In reality, however, there are only 3 recorded cases, in which two candidates were allowed to run, while in all the other cases, only one candidate ran for the seat. There was a total of 8 elections that happened under this system:
- 1953 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- 1958 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- 1963 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- 1968 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- 1973 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- 1978 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- 1983 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- 1988 Sawbranian parliamentary election
Transition period
After the Silent Revolutions, the Sawbranian government realized the volutality of its regime and it was agreed to transform into a more democratic system, in contrast to most of the other countries, which were installing stricter governmental system. After a 1992 referendum, it was agreed, that in 1993, multiple parties would be allowed to participate, with the National Front getting 1/3 of the mandates of the National Assembly, which is to be expanded to 240 seats, by default.
The electoral system was changed and it was agreed to reinstate the Senate with 100 seats. The National Assembly was elected using the D'Hondt method with regions serving as electoral constituencies, the Senate was elected using a Two-round system in 100 single-mandate constituencies.
In the 1993 Sawbranian parliamentary election, there were two opposition groups running against the National Front. Out of the 100 mandates of the Senate, the two opposition blocs won 98, with the National Front winning only one. Out of the National Assembly (in which 160 seats were contested), the opposition blocs won 89 and 68 mandates respectively, with the National Front winning only the remaining 3 mandates. Such a monumental defeat lead to a schism in the National Assembly and the Socialist Party officially dissolving the coalition. After deliberations, it was agreed to call for a snap election.
In the 1994 snap election, there were no longer any larger blocs, but the results, especially for the Communist Party, were unfavorable. A total of 11 political subjects successfully got elected into the National Assembly and a centre-right coalition was formed. The largest party, Party of Future for Sawbrania, ran the government and had the ministry of the interior and the prime minister, while the second largest party, Sawbranian Republican Party, got the minister of defence and their former leader was elected president.
1997 political crisis
The 1997 Sawbranian political crisis began, when the minister of the interior declared, that the military should undergo a transformation from a conscription-based service to a professional army, which the minister of defence refused to accept. After few weeks of political gridlock, the parliament officially agreed with the minister of the interior and cancelled the 2 year mandatory military service. In response, the president vetoed the motion and instructed the minister of defence to organize a set of special professional military-police units as a sort of compromise between the two ideas. This was refused by the minister of the interior (who's ministry officially controlled the police), who, along with the prime minister, asked the president to sign the dismissal of the minister of defence (while the Prime minister had the right to propose a dismissal of a member of the cabinet, it had to be contrasigned by the president).
In the next week, the president repeated his stance and refused to dismiss the minister, again demanding a compromise. At the same day, the minister of defence officially announced the creation of "Militia", a sort of military-police units, which are to stand along a civil-oriented police force and constripted army as a triad, controlled by the ministry of defence.
This was followed by a quick escalation of rhetoric, which ended with the parliamentary majority officially passing a resolution, which removed the president from power. The president, however, refused to step down and announced an amendment to the constitution, which gives him the right to disband the parliament, if there is a threat to democracy (the Communist party supported the motion to impeach the president, which was used as a narrative). This unilateral change to the constitution was refused by the parliament, which in turn demanded the police to arrest the president.
The police was split on the matter, as much of the force had been incorporated into the militia, resulting in a complete paralysis of the system.
After a set of demonstations in front of the presidential palace, on of which turned into a riot, the president decided to declare the state of national emergency and asked the military to intervene on behalf of the minister of defence. In the resulting fighting, over 20 people lost their life and up to 140 members of the parliament fled into exile.
Once the dust settled, the minister of defence was asked to form a provisional caretaker government until elections can be called.
The 1997 snap election resulted in a landslide victory for the Republican Party. International observers questioned the legitimacy of the election, stating that the newly established militia was asked in many districts to "supervise the election" and "maintain order". As a result, a the new parliament agreed to change the electoral system and reform the National Assembly into the Council of the People and the Senate into the Council of the Republic.
Current system
The current system was created after the 1997 Sawbranian political crisis and is designed in a way to give the strongest party the best chances to get an electoral supermajority. The system was changed in 2009, lowering the number of deputies of the Council of the People from 240 to 110 and of the Council of the Republic from 100 to 60. As of 2022, there were 6 elections held under this system:
- 1997 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- All 240 members of the Council of the People
- All 100 members of the Council of the Republic
- 2000 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- All 240 members of the Council of the People
- 50 out of 100 members of the Council of the Republic (the rest elected by local assemblies)
- 2005 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- All 240 members of the Council of the People
- 50 out of 100 members of the Council of the Republic (the rest elected by local assemblies)
- 2010 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- All 110 members of the Council of the People
- 24 out of 60 members of the Council of the Republic (the rest elected by local assemblies, appointed by the president or being members ex officio)
- 2015 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- All 110 members of the Council of the People
- 24 out of 60 members of the Council of the Republic (the rest elected by local assemblies, appointed by the president or being members ex officio)
- 2020 Sawbranian parliamentary election
- All 110 members of the Council of the People
- 24 out of 60 members of the Council of the Republic (the rest elected by local assemblies, appointed by the president or being members ex officio)
Allegiations of corruption
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Allegations of rigged elections
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Elections
Elections are to be held once every 5 years. Both houses are elected at the same time. Elections always start on Friday at 14:00 (2 PM) and end at 14:00 (2 PM) on Saturday.
Council of the Republic
Voters recieve a single ballot (in case that a lot subjects are running in the election, the ballot may be split onto multiple sheets of paper). It contains the list of parties and electoral coalitions, each with 3 listed candidates for the respective electoral region. Voters either mark one party by circling its name (giving all three preference votes to the three candidates of the party) or they can give votes to up to three candidates by circling their numbers. Those candidates to not have to be from the same party.
Seats are assigned using the D'Hondt method based on the candidating party, prefferencial votes are used to rank the candidates within the party.
Council of the People
Voters recieve multiple ballots, each belonging to one party or electoral coalition. It contains 40 nation-wide candidates and a local constituency candidate. Voters can give up to 5 preferrence votes by circling the number in front of the candidate. Council of the People ballots are marked with a red stripe.
The mandates are distributed using a mixed electoral system, which combines a total of 70 single-member constituencies, which use the First-past-the-post voting, and a single 40-member constituency, which encompasses the whole country, in which the mandates are assigned using the D'Hondt method.
By-elections
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Snap elections
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Legislative process
Proposal
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Council of the People discussion
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Council of the Republic discussion
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Presidential interjection
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Joint sessions
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Caretaker decrees
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Legislative protest
Parliament-in-exile
The pre-1997 democratic parties, as well as multiple protesting Republicans, which fled to the exile in early 2000's, formed the Democratic Assembly of Sawbrania, which serves as a advisory and expert body to the Sawbranian government-in-exile. It consists of representatives of the exiled political parties, cultural organizations and people elected in elections run on the cultural houses, which stand in the opposition to the official government of Sawbrania. It currently consists of 127 people.
See also
- Government of Sawbrania
- Government-in-exile of Sawbrania
- Council of the Republic of Sawbrania
- Council of the People of Sawbrania
- Caretaker Council of Sawbrania
- Democratic Assembly of Sawbrania
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