Politics of Randstadt
Randstadt is a republic and free city of Dolchland, and is operated as a limited democracy, though with an old tradition of democracy that stands at odds with Dolchlandic history as a whole. The head of state is the Bürgermeister, who also acts as head of the upper house, while the head of the lower house and de facto head of government is the First Minister.
Executive power is vested in the position of Bürgermeister, with the upper house, the Meisterrat, selecting the Bürgermeister from among them. The remaining legislative authority is vested in the Gemeinderat, whose leader, the First Minister of the Gemeinderat, is selected by the body of ministers, who themselves are elected directly. Randstadt has a number of political parties which make up the Gemeinderat.
Randstadt added limited female suffrage to universal male suffrage in 1945. It then replaced this system with universal suffrage in 2003.
Executive branch
The Bürgermeister of Randstadt is an elected position with no term limits. The Bürgermeister is proposed by and voted in by the Meisterrat, the upper house of Randstadt. The elections for Bürgermeister are considered ongoing, and thus the Meister of the Meisterrat may change the Bürgermeister on a whim, though may themselves only change with an election of the Meisterrat. The First Minister is also an elected position. After a general election, otherwise known as an election of the Gemeinderat, the members of the Gemeinderat propose their candidate for First Minister to the Gemeinderat and then to the Meisterrat, and may be vetoed by the Bürgermeister.
The executive further comprises four cabinet ministers, two from the Gemeinderat (those being the Justizminister and the Finanzminister), and two from the Meisterrat (the Verteidigungsminister der Bürger and the Gildenmeister der Münze). The Justizminister is charged with overseeing criminal prosecutions, corrections, enforcement of court orders, while the Finanzminister oversees the treasury, determining fiscal policy and managing the state budget. To contrast, the Verteidigungsminister der Bürger oversees the marshalling of the police, Berittenpolizei and the Landwehr, while the Gildenmeister der Münze manages matters of guild income, business and acts as the second in command of the Bürgermeister in the Meisterrat.
Andreas von Innenteil is the current Bürgermeister of Randstadt. His constitutional powers include the right to veto any legislation, to dissolve the Gemeinderat, though the latter may be overturned by the Meisterrat. He represents Randstadt in imperial politics and inter-state affairs. He signs treaties on behalf of Randstadt or may delegate this function to a plenipotentiary. On the basis of the names put forward by Gemeinderat, the Bürgermeister approves the nominations for government positions, district and high court judges, the judges of the Oberstes Gericht, and the members of the constitutional court and court of appeals. The Bürgermeister may also commute punishments, order the dismissal of investigations, and both current and former Bürgermeister are free from certain forms of criminal prosecution, though the latter too may be overturned by the Meisterrat. All legislation and proclamations are made in honour of the office of Bürgermeister.
Legislative branch
The Bürgermeister's involvement in legislation includes the right to intervene in and veto government bills and proposals of the Gemeinderat. The Bürgermeister may also enact decrees which must be voted on by the Gemeinderat and Meisterrat before becoming law. The Bürgermeister may also enact emergency decrees, which only require the co-signature of the Gildenmeister der Münze and the First Minister.
The Staatsräte is the legislature of Randstadt, and is bicameral, with an upper house, the Meisterrat, and a lower house, the Gemeinderat. They differ greatly in function and form, as well as the terms an individual may serve on them.
Meisterrat
The Meisterrat of Randstadt currently has 47 members. The membership of the Meisterrat is comprised of the leaders of each of Randstadt's recognised guilds. There are 18 recognised guilds, with the most recent being added in 2011. The Meisterrat's main tasks are to oversee the guilds, elect and moderate the Bürgermeister, vote on the passage of laws by the Gemeinderat and oversee its own elections and electoral processes. Meisterrat elections are sometimes criticised for their corruptability, as an individual is entitled anywhere between no votes and three, depending on whether they meet certain requirements. By law, members of the Meisterrat must remain politically independent, though it is well-known that certain guilds prefer certain parties over others. Elections to the Meisterrat are held every five years, but there is no limit to how many terms one of the Meister may serve. The Bürgermeister is elected from the ranks of the Meisterrat, but once they are elected, even if they lose their seat in the Meisterrat, they may only be removed from office if the Meisterrat itself votes them out.
Gemeinderat
The Gemeinderat of Randstadt has 30 members, two from each of the municipalities of Randstadt, elected for terms of two to six years. The Gemeinderat's main tasks are to discuss and adopt resolutions on constitutional proposals and draft government bills. It has the additional duties of electing members of the government, judges, and board members of the Free City's institutions; setting the annual budget and approving taxes and other public charges; and supervising the administration of the state. The Gemeinderat observes its rights and duties in the course of sessions of the whole Gemeinderat and in the course of commissions which it elects. The Speaker of the Gemeinderat is selected by the First Minister at the beginning of their term, and may be removed unanimously by the First Minister also. The Speaker convenes meetings and represents the Gemeinderat externally, while the First Minister is the de facto leader of the Gemeinderat. A state commission must be selected in case of the dissolution of the Gemeinderat, which may be done by the Bürgermeister and only overturned by the Meisterrat, as well as during parliamentary recesses, which do not lie on fixed dates. The state commission oversees menial duties of state during the Gemeinderat's absence, and consists of the Speaker and four deputies.