National Assembly of Carloso

National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Carloso
44th National Assembly of Carloso
Type
Type	Unicameral
Houses	National Assembly
Term limits	None
Leadership
Speaker	Jorge Moran since 11 February 2011
Deputy Speaker	Tomás Ocanas, NS since 23 January 2017
President of the Executive Council	Cárlos Tobón, NS since 11 February 2011
Deputy President of the Executive Council	Estebán Santander, NS since 11 February 2011
Government Chief Whip	Noel Sabater, NS since 5 July 2021
Leader of the Opposition	Mariah Contreras, SR since 11 February 2021
Opposition Chief Whip	TBD, SR since 11 February 2021
Structure
Seats	859 430 (or 429 plus the Speaker) for a majority
Political groups	Government (445)   National Salvation (445) Opposition (413)   Socialist Republicans (149)   Democratic Party (115)   Synarchist Union (52)   Conservative Party (49)   Green Alternative (18)   Independent (30) Presiding officer (1)   Speaker (1)
Committees	28 Whole Defence Health Foreign Affairs Justice Environment Science Religious Affairs Energy & Natural Resources Intelligence Education Carlosian Language Business Communications Rules Provincial Government Assembly Archives Social Affairs Public Accounts Statutory Instruments Finance Industrial Relations Constitutional Reform Maternal Affairs Agriculture & Fisheries Culture & Sport Home Affairs Presidential Conduct
Length of term	Five years
Elections
Voting system	Single transferable vote with elimination transfers only (STV-ETO)
Last election	11 November 2020
Next election	11 November 2025
Redistricting	Confirmation by the President on the advice of the boundary commissions.
Meeting place
Monrentera Palace, Madrigal, Carloso

The National Assembly of Carloso (Spanish: Asamblea Nacional de Cárloso) is the unicameral legislature of Carloso. It meets at Monrentera Palace in Madrigal. It is presided over by a Speaker. The National Assembly is composed of 859 deputies, known as National Assemblymen (NAs); or alternatively National Assemblywomen if the member is female, who are directly elected every five years under universal suffrage. NAs are drawn from three-member constituencies, with an extra NA allotted to the constituency which the Speaker from the previous term was elected. Vacancies are filled via by-elections, held within six months of the seat being vacated, provided it is more than year until the next general election. Elections are held on the 11 November of years divisible by five, with the new National Assembly commencing business on 11 February of the following year. All citizens over the age of 18 may vote in these elections, while candidates must be at least 30 years old by election day. A form of proportional representation is utilised, in the form of a simplified version of the single transferable vote (STV) known as the single transferable vote with elimination transfers only (STV-ETO).

While its current form dates to the enactment of the 1956 Constitution of Carloso, the National Assembly was founded in 1860 as the Imperial Assembly of the Carlosian Empire.

The last general election in Carloso was held in 2020. The next will be held in 2025.

History

Precursors

From its independence in 1581, Carloso was governed as a stratocratic directorial republic, with legislative authority vested in the National Directory, a committee composed of nine members elected by the officers of Carloso's military forces. The President of the National Directory, until the tenure of Cárlos Mostodra, was considered primus inter pares, with proposed legislation only needing a simple majority in the National Directory to be enacted, with no offcial have the power to veto them.

Carlosian Empire

Imperial Assembly of Carloso
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Disbanded	29 May 1932
Succeeded by	National Assembly
Seats	301
Elections
Voting system	Single non-transferable vote (SNTV)
First election	1860
Last election	1930

The original 1826 Constitution invested legislative power soley in the Imperial Council, the predecessor to the modern Executive Council. This body was led by a President, who was directly appointed and served at the pleasure of the Emperor. Any legislation passed by the Imperial Council could be approved or vetoed for any reason by the Emperor, effectively making Carloso an absolute monarchy. As the years progressed, it became apparent that such an autocratic system of government would be difficult to maintain as the increasingly more educated public called for greater participation in political life. There was also the matter of reconciliation with the hundreds of thousands of English-speaking Carlosians who had a non-existent degree of representation within the exclusively Carlosian-speaking government, compounded by the fact that many of the former British institutions and civil service had been absorbed by the new Carlosian Empire. Fearing that the present situation may result in revolution if pre-emptive action wasn't taken, President Cristián Fegúndes, supported by former President Baltasár Escarcega, put forward a proposal to Cárlos I for the formation of a Westminster-inspired parliament in the form an Imperial Assembly, with 301 seats and an electorate composed of all male heads of households.

Initially refusing to yield, Cárlos I ultimately yielded upon the insistence of Escarcega, convinced that there was now a need to give his rule some semblance of democratic legitimacy. Coinciding with the creation of the Imperial Assembly, English was made a co-official language of Carloso. Under the so-called 1860 Compromise, elections would be held with constituencies returning three members each, with an extra seat reserved for future elections for the constituency from which the speaker would be elected from, to make up for the loss in representation. The single non-transferable vote (SNTV) system would be utilised. Members of the Imperial Council would be drawn from the Imperial Assembly, however the Emperor would ultimately have the power to appoint the President of the Imperial Council, and would retain his veto on legislation. The first general election was scheduled for 11 November 1860, and the first at least partially democratically elected Imperial Assembly took their seats on 11 February 1861. Subsequent elections in 1865 through 1915 were held under similar circumstances. Shortly before his death, Sébastien I approved legislation which enfranchised all males over the age of 21, as well as all females over the age of 30 who owned property, while also changing the system to a form of the multiple non-transferable vote known as the multiple non-transferable limited vote (MNT-LV), introducing semi-proportional representation. In 1930, the female voting age was equalised with men at 21.

Following the election of Javier Fonseca as President in 1931, there was a state of nearly constant friction between his government and Sébastien II, President Fonseca having campaigned on a promise to hold a plebiscite on the future of the Carlosian monarchy, which had become historically unpopular due to the scandal surrounding the infidelity of Sébastien II's younger brother, Isander, Prince of Mercurea, as well as the imperial family's lavish lifestyle, widely perceived as excessive amidst the stagnant economic situation in Carloso. The attempt by Fonseca to pass the Status of the Empire Act 1932 through the Imperial Assembly would trigger Sébastien II's attempt to arrest him, and ultimately start the 1932 Carlosian crisis, which would ultimately end in the Emperor's abdication and the dissolution of the Carlosian Empire.

Elections

Single transferable vote

The system of the single transferable vote with elimination transfers only (STV-ETO) often penalises parties who field popular candidates in a constituency, as if their votes exceed the quota and they are elected, any surplus votes beyond that quota cannot be redistributed to other candidates running under that party. This resulted in the largely three-party system (Conservative, Democratic, Socialist Republican) that dominated Carlosian politics up until relatively recently. There is a fierce tradition in Carlosian politics of transfer pacts and complex political strategy in almost every constituency. If a party wishes to run two candidates in a constituency, posters and other election literature will direct voters to vote for a particular candidate depending on their geographic location. As such, the strength and discipline of the grassroots are vital to electoral success.

Carloso uses the Hare quota method.

Composition

Party		Ideology	Position	Leader	Seats
	National Salvation	National conservatism	Right-wing	Cárlos Tobón	446 / 859
	Conservative Party	Liberal conservatism	Centre-right	TBD	49 / 859
	Democratic Party	Liberalism	Centre-left	Elon Básaran	115 / 859
	Socialist Republicans	Democratic socialism	Left-wing	Mariah Contreras	149 / 859
	Synarchist Union	Neo-fascism	Far-right	Damián Torrero	52 / 859
	Green Alternative	Green politics	Left-wing	Benjamín Lacasa	18 / 859
	Independent	N/A	N/A	N/A	30 / 859

NS   Con   Dem   SR   SU   Com   GA   PC   Ind
1995–2000	463 186 79 46 16 2 67
2000–2005	302 293 126 52 29 14 7 36
2005–2010	349 255 95 79 41 40
2010–2015	423 122 87 77 26 18 106
2015–2020	507 183 68 30 24 18 29
2020–2025	446 149 115 52 49 18 30

Proposals for reform

Proposed upper house

In 2019 a report presented to the Constitutional Reform Committee proposed the formation of a senate, with five senators representing each province of Carloso.