Realm Parliament

Realm Parliament
116th parliamentary term
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	Saul Ryan, Social Democratic
Majority Leader pro tempore	Zoe Nilsson, The Greens
Minority Leader	Ronald Chump, Yohannes First
Clerk of the Whole Committee	Sansa Lovebright, Christian Democratic
Structure
Seats	435
Political groups	Executive Council   Christian Democratic (78)   Consumers and Taxpayers (1) Confidence and Supply Agreement   The Greens (30)   Independents (7) Non-aligned   Free Cannabis (1) The Opposing Forces   Social Democratic (77)   Yohannes First (35)   Family Values (1)
Elections
Voting system	Personalised proportional representation

The Realm Parliament is the unicameral legislature of Yohannes. The Limited Separation of Powers, which established the Electoral College in 1781, and thus created the Nineteen Countries legislature, used the term "Imperial Parliament" rather than "Parliament." Parliament and "Realm Parliament," however, soon came into popular usage, and in latter years especially have been used as a lazy shorthand term for both the institutions of the Electoral College and the Realm (archaic: "Imperial") Parliament. Not until the First Amendment came into force on 5 August 1861 did "Parliament" also become an official constitutional term.

Parliament today, broadly speaking, consists of the Assembly of Electors in the Nineteen Countries (Collegian Electors of the Nation State) and the Realm Parliament (Members of the Realm Parliament) itself. The role of the President of the Electoral College, who is also the elected Yohannesian Emperor at the same time, is purely formal. She or he is constantly absent from the Chamber of Electors to fulfill their executive duties and obligations as chief supervisor of the Executive Council. The real business of Parliament is carried out by the elected Realm Parliament, with members of the Electoral College themselves often attending the Realm Parliament's meetings to voice their views on day-to-day state matters. The functions of Parliament are to enact laws; to provide an Executive Council (i.e. federal government); to vote for departmental and non-departmental appropriations (e.g. supplying money); and to examine the way the money is spent. Most importantly, Parliament also serves as the highest debating chamber in the land on public issues, and has the ultimate authority to redress citizens' grievances on petitions.

Personalised proportional representation

The first recorded general election in the Nineteen Countries took place for over six months in 1786, in time for Parliament to establish its first Act. The Foreign Mission Act 1787 sent 350 Yohannesian academics and aldermen abroad to observe Western economic, political and legal cultures. Because of the urgency of the Act, the voting process involved was poor compared to today's standards. The Realm Electoral Act 1871, amended further in 1939 and 1990, laid the foundations for the subsequent development of Parliament's modern-day standardised decision-making procedures.

There are 19 constituent countries in Yohannes. Each country undertakes general election with their own electoral rules. To provide an Executive Council—that is, government at the federal level—however, there were two sets of rules used before the adoption of contemporary Yohannes' electoral system: the first and for the longest time, the first-past-the-post (FPP), and the second unofficially brief system, mixed-member proportional (MMP).

The first-past-the-post was adopted from the Constitution of Maxtopia and other industrialised countries at the time. It was a widely used electoral system in the Western world and a small number of civilised countries in the Orient. Besides these, Yohannesian academics and technical supervisors were also sent to other major regions, such as the North Pacific and the International Democratic Union.

Under FPP, the candidate who secured the highest number of votes in their electorate would become a Member of Parliament (MP). Some larger urban zones in Yohannes also had multi-member electorates to reflect their high population density. In a multi-member electorate, more than one candidate would be selected to become an MP. The FPP and multi-member electoral rules were used until the 1988 referendum and the subsequent 1990 parliamentary election. Thereafter, MMP became the prescriptive electoral rules.

MMP was also an adopted foreign system. It allowed for two types of members: Electoral and Listed. An Electoral member is the candidate who has secured the highest number of votes in their electorate. A Listed member is the candidate who has been chosen by their political party. MMP was an unofficial temporary replacement, intended to make way for the introduction of an indigenous set of rules developed in Yohannes—an offshoot of the personalised proportional representation (PPR) system.

Adopted since the 1998 parliamentary election, the PPR is the prescriptive rules used in modern-day Yohannes. It combines features of FPP and MMP to create a specialised system more in line with the Nineteen Countries' laws and national spirits. It was also created to support the central agenda of the government at the time: the slow but steady growth of Yohannes' trade, commerce and industry.

Similar to MMP, the Yohannesian offshoot of PPR was designed to ensure that the make-up of the legislature would better reflect the make-up of the population, such as by looking at a voter's political allegiance, race or religion. Just like MMP, a registered voter could vote twice in the general election: first, for a candidate from their electorate, and then for the political party they so desired. The electoral candidate who has secured the highest number of votes will become an Electoral member. The second vote for the political party allows for the entry of Listed parliamentary members, so chosen by their respective parties' leaders.

Unlike MMP, strict restrictions are in place regarding the type of individuals listed by their party. The candidates listed must be an accredited Business Leader, Community Leader, Innovator, or Research Fellow. The Justices of the Peace are tasked with giving the government's Certification and Accreditation. They are as follows:

1. A Business Leader, someone with proven trade and commerce experience at home or abroad;
2. A Community Leader, someone with noteworthy social and community work experience at home;
3. An Innovator, someone with a patented invention at home or abroad; and
4. A Research Fellow, someone with a professional accreditation or trade certification at home.

A candidate listed by their party must also pass the fifth and final criterion—with reference to the World Assembly Resolution # 198 Preventing Multiple Trials, they must have no original criminal conviction history, whether at home or abroad.

Parliament House Administration

The first administrative appointments to Parliament were those of the Office of the Clerk of the Whole Committee (archaic: Field Marshal of Imperial Subpoena), Second-in-Command, and the 19 Generals of Realm Election in 1787. The early appointments of other major officers include the Librarian of the Library of Parliament in 1800 and the Electoral Hansard and Debates Chief Reporter in 1803. The former has been known as the Parliamentary Library Custodian since 1945, and the latter as the Editor of Electoral Debates since 1990.