Folkssenaat

People's Senate

Folkssenaat
Rahvasenat
People's Senate ; Folkssenaat; Rahvasenat
2022–2026 term
History
Founded	October 31, 1919
Preceded by	TBD
Leadership
President of the Folkssenaat	Vidvars Ādamsons, LA ; since since 14 October 2022
Vice Presidents of the Folkssenaat	Hayte Hamstra, Left; since 14 October 2022; Kije van der Velde, ORP; since 14 October 2022; Marian Sauerbrunn, Bloc; since 14 October 2022; Roomet Vosu, G+; since 27 November 2023; Ruut Harma, HSU; since 14 October 2022; Feya Molenaar, RFP; since 14 October 2022; Imma de Boer, PA; since 14 October 2022; Ueli Gaschen, HVWL; since 14 October 2022;
Structure
Seats	201
Political groups	Government (113) Liveable Alsland (41); Bloc (23); Orange (20); Sotirian Union (15); Radical (14); Opposition (88) Left (42); Greens+ (19); Orange (13); Progressives (10); Minorities (4);
Elections
Voting system	Party-list proportional representation (PLPR)
Last election	5 September 2022
Meeting place
Website
	folkssenaat.gov.as

The Folkssenaat ("People's senate", commonly referred to as simply the Senate) is the lower house of the Federal Assembly, the upper house is the indirectly elected Federal Council. The Folkssenaat is comprised of 201 seats which are elected through party-list proportional representation. There are 18 constituencies in Alsland which correspond to individual provinces. The Folkssenaat sits in the Senaatsgebou in Yndyk although the entire Federal Assembly will move to Wottested in 2025 as the Senaatsgebou undergoes renovations.

The Senate is led by a President and an unfixed number Vice-Presidents who usually come from each major parliamentary group. The role of the President rotates between the Vice-Presidents who are replaced as a Vice-President upon their election as President of the Senate. The President serves for a term of 1 year. Vice-Presidents are elected between members of the Senate.

Members and elections

All 201 Senators are members of 18 constituencies which represent each Province of Alsland. Senators are elected using the party-list proportional representation, using the Boeri method. There is no federally recognised voting age and each community sets it's own voting ages for elections, instead it is precedent to let each Community decide on the voting age for elections. In the Swathish Community and Holsaten Community the voting age is 16 whilst in the Dellish Community and Martish Community the voting age is 18. The Dellish Community also has mandatory voting laws however there are no punishments for failing to vote. All Communities have automatic voter registration and all communities use voting machines to cast ballots 7 of the major parties running wish to establish a Federal voting law to standardise Alsland's voting laws. Voters from abroad can request a ballot via mail from their embassy and these ballots must be returned to the embassy or consulate the day prior to the election.

However the laws regarding candidates are the same across the country, to be eligible to stand for the Folkssenaat a person must be at least 18 years old and have Alslandic citizenship. If a candidate has dual citizenship they are allowed to retain it since 2019, prior to this a candidate would have had to renounce their previous citizenship.

Members per Province

Requirements

To be a candidate for the Senate a citizen must be at least 18 years old and a citizen and current resident of Alsland.

A Senator can only enter office after taking the oath of office. The oath is as follows: "I swear to uphold the Constitution of the United Provinces of Alsland, to dedicate my efforts to the well-being of the Alslandic people, to promote their welfare and protect them from harm." (Dellish: Ik swar de Grûnwet fan 'e Feriene Provinsjes Aalslân te hanthavenjen, har wolwêzen te befoarderjen, har te beskermjen tsjin skea en myn ynset te wijden oan it wolwêzen fan it Alslandyske folk, Weranian: Ich schwöre, die Verfassung der Vereinigten Provinzen von Aalsland aufrechtzuerhalten, ihr Wohlergehen zu fördern, sie vor Schaden zu schützen und meine Bemühungen dem Wohl der Aalsländer Bevölkerung zu widmen, Kirenian: Vanden toetada Alslandi Ühendatud Provintside põhiseadust, edendada nende heaolu, kaitsta neid kahju eest ja pühendada oma jõupingutused Alslandi inimeste heaolule)

A Senator must also resign other provincial or local offices upon becoming a Senator. The same rule applies vice-versa if a Senator takes up a role in Provincial or Local politics. Senators also may not be serving in the Judiciary or be a current civil-servant. Civil-servants are able to be granted political leave and don't need to resign their position upon being elected as a Senator.

Role

President and Vice-Presidents

The role of the President of the Folkssenaat functions similarly speaker of the chamber and is elected by Senators in the first sitting of the Senate after an election to serve until the Parliamentary term finishes The current President of the Folkssenaat is Arved Levandi of the National Bloc. The President mst be a member of the Folkssenaat but does not get a vote in the Senate and only votes if there is a tie. By tradition, the largest party or group in the Folkssenaat nominates the President who is elected uncontested and every other party or group represented nominates a Vice-President who serve to assist the President. The President of the Folkssenaat is second in the order of precedence and automatically becomes acting President of Alsland or Premier of Alsland if any of these offices are unfilled, in the event this happens a special session of the Senate is called to elect a new temporary President of the Senate at the soonest possible date.

The President and Vice-Presidents are collectively referred to as the Senate Presidency. The current Senate Presidency is:

Committees

The Folkssenaat has several committees each with a responsibility over different parts of the government. The committees examine legislative proposals. Each committee is divided proportionally between the parties based on their current seat total within the Folkssenaat.

The current Senate committees are:
• Federal affairs
• Justice
• Finance
• Defence
• Foreign Affairs
• General affairs and civil service
• Environment
• Public health
• Infrastructure and communication
• Immigration and integration
• Education
• Culture
• Science
• Transport
• Energy
• Agriculture
• Labour policy
• Welfare
• Social Affairs