Cortes Federales of Nouvelle Alexandrie
| Cortes Federales of Nouvelle Alexandrie Cortes Fédérales (Alexandrian) Cortes Federales (Martino) Rimana Huñunakuy (Wechua) | |
| 14th Cortes Federales | |
 Seal of the Cortes Federales of Nouvelle Alexandrie | |
| Type | |
|---|---|
| Type |
Bicameral |
| Houses | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1693 AN |
| Preceded by | Federal Constituent Assembly (1685 AN-1693 AN) |
| Leadership | |
|
Sayri Tʼito Waman, Baron of Ausangate, (Non-partisan) | |
| Structure | |
| Seats |
|
Federal Assembly political groups |
|
Joint committees |
|
| Meeting place | |
The Cortes Federales (Alexandrian: Cortes Fédérales; Martino: Cortes Federales; Wechua: Rimana Huñunakuy) is the bicameral legislature of the Federation of Nouvelle Alexandrie, consisting of the elected Federal Assembly (the lower house), and the unelected Chamber of Peers (the upper house). The Cortes Federales meets in the Legislative Palace in the city of Cárdenas, located within the Federal Capital District.
The Federal Assembly consists of 801 elected members that are chosen from each of the 13 Regions of Nouvelle Alexandrie through proportional representation. The Chamber of Peers consists of appointed Peers, whose number is not fixed by law but rests with the King under the Cortes Federales Act, 1694. The Peers were previously exclusively members of the nobility of Nouvelle Alexandrie appointed by the King of Nouvelle Alexandrie on advice of the Premier until 1721 AN, when the Proclamation of Punta Santiago was amended to change the process, leading to the Royal Peer Selection Committee Act, 1721. After the 1721 AN reforms, new Peers are appointed on the recommendation of the 28-member Royal Peer Selection Committee through a public nomination process.
In accordance with the Proclamation of Punta Santiago, the two houses hold the supreme legislative power in Nouvelle Alexandrie. As such, they vote on proposed legislation and scrutinize the Executive, while the appointment and dismissal of the Council of State rest with the Federal Assembly. The Proclamation gives several important rights to Peers and Deputies: during sessions, they are inviolable from opinions; they are forbidden from any compulsory mandate; and they cannot be arrested except by order of the respective chamber. Where the two houses disagree, the Federal Assembly prevails: a bill the Chamber of Peers neither passes nor rejects within sixty days is deemed to have passed.
History
The Cortes Federales was established in 1693 AN on the final ratification of the Proclamation of Punta Santiago, succeeding the Federal Constituent Assembly that had governed the Federation since 1685 AN. Its first session opened on 15.I.1694 AN, when King Manco Cápac delivered the inaugural Throne Speech to the 1st Cortes Federales.
The two chambers took their modern shape through a series of constitutional reforms. The Constitutional Reform and Amendment Act, 1710 broadened the Federation's rights and liberties, and the Cortes Federales Constitutional Amendment and Democratization Act, 1721 reformed the Chamber of Peers, opening it to distinguished citizens alongside the nobility and providing for a Royal Peer Selection Committee, established by the Royal Peer Selection Committee Act, 1721 to propose new Peers. The permanent committee system was built out over the same period, most of the standing committees dating from 1706 AN and 1708 AN.
In its recent sessions the Cortes has been shaped by two binding national referendums: the first established the National Resilience Fund in 1757 AN over the government's opposition, and the second rejected a two-term limit on the premiership in 1758 AN.
Political Parties
Although the Representation of Deputies in the Federal Assembly is Proportional, there are currently Two Contemporary Large parties that dominate seats, and thereby politics, in Nouvelle Alexandrie.
Federal Humanist Party
Established in 1692 AN in Parap as a merger of the Wechu Nationalist and Humanist Club with Aldurian and Lyrican Federalist groups, the FHP is a big tent centre-right party with a right-wing element in its ranks. It describes itself as being Federalist, Humanist, Corporatist, and Constitutionalist. It also supported the Raspur Pact when it was formed, and takes a pro-stance on it. It won the first elections in 1693 AN under Augustus Strong. In 1698, it enlarged its lead to become the sole government party. It lost the 1703 AN elections to the SDLA, but regained a majority in the 1708 AN elections. The party has the most support under centrist and moderate right voters, especially under the upper class, rural communities, businessmen and entrepreneurs, as well as soldiers and religious people. Students, especially those of the Humanist Vanguard, also are a big voter base. Men also vote more FHP than women.
Federal Consensus Party
Formed as a successor to the Moderate Caucus. The party was started by three independent deputies in 1703 AN who proposed the Common Sense Principles. They became the third party after the 1708 AN elections. The FCP is a center party which calls itself Social Democrat, Centrist and Liberal, as well as Aldricist. It is known for supporting a market economy with government oversight, as well as promoting a rewriting of the Proclamation to include more Civil and Political Rights, and more powers to local and regional government. It also encompassed both radical centrist, progressive, and moderate wings. The party has support from the urban middle class, college students, liberals, and especially Wechua nationalists.
Democratic Socialist Party
Created from the Merger of the Solidary Party and the Progressive Party in 1698 AN, the DSP took over as the second largest party from the Cambio Democrático in the elections of that year. The DSP is a big tent centre-left party, meant to unite left-wing and centrists. It describes itself as an 'Alliance of Aldricists, liberals, social democrats, democratic socialists, market socialists, and trade unionists'. It is known for supporting a mixed social economy instead of a market economy or a planned economy. It encompasses both progressive, conservative, and moderate wings. It was the largest party after the 1703 AN elections, and remained in power until the next elections, when the FHP returned. The party has obvious support from left voters, including the labour union movement, as well as working people, the lower class, pensioners, and unemployed. Women also vote more DSP than men.
Minor Parties
There are currently two minor parties that have representation in the Assembly:
- Wakara People's Party: the regional party of Boriquén, who focus on local issues and have a grassroots approach. The party is social-democratic, with a semi-nationalist tendency on culture and spirituality.
- Civic Governance Alliance: a good-government party founded in 1753 AN and led by Elena Svensson, campaigning on anti-corruption and party-finance reform. It won ten seats at its first general election in 1754 AN.
Independents
The Proclamation permits politicians to be elected without a represented party. These are called Independents. There is no defining ideology, and most independents run for regional representation or one-issue politics.
Officers and organization
Each house governs its own proceedings under standing orders it adopts for itself, within the framework set by the Proclamation of Punta Santiago and the Cortes Federales Act, 1694. Some offices of the Cortes are shared between the two chambers, while others belong to each house alone.
Opening of the Cortes
Each new Cortes is brought into session by the Lord Protector, the officer known by the Wechua title Apu Kalanayak, who bears the Mace of State into the chamber and by that act formally opens the legislature. Established by the Cortes Federales Act, 1694, the office joins the duties of sergeant-at-arms and custodian of order across both houses. Its holder sits in the Chamber of Peers and carries the ex officio dignity of Baron of Ausangate, a title attached to the office rather than to the person who holds it. The Lord Protector is appointed by the King on the advice of the President of the Government and confirmed by the Chamber of Peers.
The Mace of State is an ancient copper-headed star mace, returned to the Wechua Nation by Caputia at its independence in 1656 AN and kept at the Museum of Wechua Antiquities in Parap. It is carried into the Federal Assembly chamber by thirteen bearers, one for each Region, and its placement on the presentation table marks the Cortes as being in session. Three ceremonial knocks announce the procession, the Lord Protector locks and unlocks the chamber doors to signify the legislature's independence, and the sitting opens with the Wechua invocation Huk sunqulla, huk yuyaylla ("with one heart, with one mind").
Presiding officers
Each house elects its own presiding officer on the first day of the legislature, in proceedings over which the King or the King's designate presides. The Federal Assembly is chaired by the Speaker and the Chamber of Peers by the Lord President. Both are required to be impartial, and on taking the chair each renounces party affiliation. Either may be removed during the legislature by a motion of no confidence, which any two members may move but which may be brought only once in a session year. When the Speaker is absent, a member he designates presides in his place; when the Lord President is absent, the King appoints a Peer to preside.
Parliamentary Parties
Members of each house organize themselves into Parliamentary Parties. Recognition follows from election rather than from any minimum size: members returned as candidates of the same party organization are presumed to constitute a single Parliamentary Party, and each party regulates its own membership and notifies the presiding officer of any change. In the Chamber of Peers the Lord President, or the Clerk acting on the Lord President's behalf, keeps a public register of the parties, their members, and their internal rules. The party or parties supporting the government are represented jointly by the President of the Government, while the largest party outside it forms His Majesty's Loyal Opposition under its own Leader.
Clerks and administration
The permanent staff of each house is headed by its Clerk. In the Chamber of Peers the Clerk, who must be a sitting Peer, is appointed and removed by the Lord President with the consent of a majority of the house, and is assisted by Associate Clerks who need not be Peers. The Clerks advise on procedure, keep the records of the house, authenticate its proceedings, and are bound to serve every party impartially.
Security and the estate
Order within the Cortes and its precincts is kept by the Cortes Federales Police, a force answerable to the Lord Protector. The care of the Legislative Palace and the other buildings of the Cortes falls to the Architect of the Cortes Federales. The Lord Protector, the Speaker, the Lord President, and the Architect together form the Cortes Police Board, which oversees policing and security across the estate.
Committees
The detailed work of the Federal Assembly is carried in committee under the Cortes Federales Act, 1694, which provides for standing legislative committees to which bills may be referred, committees of inquiry, and a Mediation Committee to reconcile the two houses. The committees below are constituted by resolution of the Assembly at the opening of each legislature.
Permanent Legislative Committees
| Committee | Current # of Members | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Constitutional Affairs | 46 | 1706 AN-present |
| Foreign Affairs | 38 | 1708 AN-present |
| Justice | 38 | 1708 AN-present |
| Defence | 38 | 1708 AN-present |
| Economic Affairs, Business, and Commerce | 38 | 1708 AN-present |
| Budget and Finances | 42 | 1706 AN-present |
| The Interior | 38 | 1708 AN-present |
| Healthcare and Social Care | 38 | 1706 AN-present |
| Civil Works and Transport | 34 | 1708 AN-present |
| Housing, Rural Affairs, and Local Government | 34 | 1708 AN-present |
| Energy and Environment | 34 | 1708 AN-present |
| Education | 34 | 1708 AN-present |
| Labor, Social Security, and Pensions | 30 | 1708 AN-present |
| Industry, Trade and Tourism | 30 | 1708 AN-present |
| Human, Civil and Social Rights | 24 | 1708 AN-present |
| Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | 24 | 1708 AN-present |
| Science, Technology, and Innovation | 24 | 1708 AN-present |
| Culture and Sports | 24 | 1708 AN-present |
| Telecommunications and Media | 24 | 1706 AN-present |
| International Cooperation and Development | 18 | 1706 AN-present |
Permanent Non-Legislative Committees
| Committee | # of Members | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Rules and Regulations | 18 | 1706 AN-present |
| Petitions | 12 | 1706 AN-present |
| Appointments | 14 | 1706 AN-present |
| Democratic Quality, Anti-Corruption, and Institutional and Legal Reform | 18 | 1706 AN-present |
| Children and Adolescents' Rights | 8 | 1706 AN-present |
| Cortes Palace Affairs | 8 | 1706 AN-present |
| HM's Household | 6 | 1708 AN-present |
| Traffic & Road Safety | 8 | 1710 AN-present |
Oversight Committees
| Committee | # of Members | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Technology | 1745 AN-present | |
| Civic Participation and Engagement | 1743 AN-present | |
| Alexandrium | 10 | 1729 AN-present |
| Housing and Urban Development | 10 | 1715 AN-present |
See Also
- Government formation in Nouvelle Alexandrie
- Federal Assembly
- Chamber of Peers
- Lord Protector of the Cortes Federales
- Legislative Palace
- Council of State
- DELCOR
