Elections in Zhousheng
The Republic of Zhousheng is a constitutional republic with regular elections for many offices and assemblies. Every citizen aged 16 years at the day of the election is eligible to vote in all elections. Citizens of Zhousheng have the right to vote in the elections for:
- National Assembly
- National Senate
- National ministers of the nationality they are a registered member of
- President
- Provincial council or autonomous parliament in the region they are a permanent resident of
- Local council or municipal council in the municipality (and city borough when applicable) they are a permanent resident of
Congress
The Congress is the national legislature of Zhousheng. It is a bicameral body whose two chambers are always elected at the same time. It is elected once every 5 year for 5 year terms, unless snap elections are called under one of the following conditions:
- A joint motion is passed by an absolute majority of members of the National Assembly and an absolute majority of members of the National Senate to call a snap election
- A motion is passed by a 2/3 supermajority of members of the National Assembly to call a snap election
- A motion is passed by a 2/3 supermajority of members of the National Senate to call a snap election
- The number of members of the National Assembly or the number of members of the National Senate fell bellow the required 2/3 quorum and no substitutes are available
- The Supreme Administrative Court of Zhousheng overturned the results of the elections from which the Congress was elected
Moreover, snap elections may be held by the decision of the President of Zhousheng under the following circumstances:
- The Congress has held a recess longer than 90 days and didn't meet within 7 days of the President requesting a session
- A motion of no confidence was passed and no new government was formed during the following 30 days
National Assembly
The National Assembly is elected using a combined electoral system:
- 200 members (4/5 of the total) are elected in multi-member electoral constituencies that correspond to the provinces and autonomies using the D'Hondt method
- 50 additional members (1/5 of the total) are elected as leveling seats that are to lower the disproportion possibly created by electoral constituencies
Prior to the 2020 legislative election, a nation-wide electoral threshold of 4% was applied, but this boundary has been removed following the decision of the Zhoushi Constitutional Court in 2019. The following reform removed the threshold and prolonged the term of the Congress from 4 to 5 years, removing the institution of a "Transitional Council" which historically served as a temporary legislation between the dissolution of the parliament and the election day; now, elections are held during the term of the Congress.
Independent candidates are not allowed to run in the elections alone, but parties and alliances generally include famous figures on their ballots regardless of the actual party membership, a practice that has been ruled to be both constitutionally protected and legal, as the electoral law does not specify party membership as a requirement for candidacy on a party ballot. Because of this, various ballots belong to multiple associations and groups rather than rigidized political parties, allowing for similarily-minded independent politicians to be elected despite not have a political party.
Voters may choose to use preference voting on their party ballots using a the single transferable vote, which determines the order in which the candidates are elected on the ballot.
Ballots for the National Assembly are labelled with a thick vertical blue stripe on the right side of the ballot.
Votes from abroad are divided into three virtual groups, each of which is assigned to a different electoral constituency:
National Senate
The National Senate, following the 2001 Zhoushi protests, is elected in a single at large constituency using the Jorken method. This system ensures that at most 49 members are elected on a single party or alliance list (one shorter than a majority of the chamber), which, because of the 99 total members of the National Senate, necessitates cooperation between at least two subjects in order to pass legislation through this chamber. This electeral system is a variation of a degressive proportionality system, where marginal political groups have their voice slightly amplified and the majority parties' voices are slightly silenced, necessitating partisan cooperation and dialogue.
Independent candidates are not allowed to run in the elections alone, but parties and alliances generally include famous figures on their ballots regardless of the actual party membership, a practice that has been ruled to be both constitutionally protected and legal, as the electoral law does not specify party membership as a requirement for candidacy on a party ballot. Because of this, various ballots belong to multiple associations and groups rather than rigidized political parties, allowing for similarily-minded independent politicians to be elected despite not have a political party.
Voters may choose to use preference voting on their party ballots using a the single transferable vote, which determines the order in which the candidates are elected on the ballot.
Ballots for the National Senate are labelled with a thick vertical red stripe on the right side of the ballot.
National ministers
The national ministers are advisory members of the National Executive, which are directly elected by the populace. Any national group whose registered members constitute at least 3% of the population or that has regional autonomy within one or more of the provinces is elligible to be represented by a national minister.
National ministers are elected by their specific groups using the instant-runoff voting.
National ministers are always elected in conjunction with the Congress. In case of a casual vacancy, if the national minority does have a regional autonomy, by-elections are held; in case the national minority does not have any autonomous locality, the next highest-ranking candidate from the original election takes office. This system was criticized for encouraging "blackmailing of national ministers to resign in order for their political opponents to undemocratically usurpt their position".
Ballots for the national ministers are labelled with a thick vertical yellow stripe on the right side of the ballot, on which the name of the national minority is written both in Zhoushi and the respective language of the national minority.
President
The President of Zhousheng is elected using a Three-round system for at most three five-year terms (prior to 2019, four year terms without rules on consecutivity), of which only two can be consecutive. Thanks to an unwritten agreement between the political parties and because of a consensus in society, presidents generally do not seek reelection after they have held the office and were defeated in a reelection, or after two terms in the consecutive elections. The last president to serve three terms instead of voluntarily withdrawing candidacy is Ulman Чuчlik, who served as the president of Zhousheng from 1984 to 1996.
The rounds are always separated from each other by two weeks, so the election takes place over a span of a month. In the first round, voters choose between the candidates using a system of approval voting, where any candidate that is marked on at least 20% of the ballots, has at least 10% of the total vote or got exclusive support of at least 5% of the populace continues into a second round. If two or less candidates managed to meet the quorum for continuous candidacy, the two highest ranking continue to the third round, with the second round being skipped.
In the second round, votes are cast using cumulative voting, where voters may give either two votes to a single candidate, or split their vote between two candidates, giving each one vote. If a single candidate recieves at least 50% of all votes, they are elected outright without a runoff in the third round.
In the third round, the two most successful candidates are facing each other. The candidate with more votes wins and becomes the President. Voters have a single vote and they pick one of the two candidates.
Provincial councils and autonomous parliaments
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Local and municipal councils
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