Federal Assembly of Nouvelle Alexandrie
| Federal Assembly of Nouvelle Alexandrie Hukllachasqa Huñunakuy Wechua | |
| 14th Cortes Federales | |
 Seal of the Federal Assembly of Nouvelle Alexandrie | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1693 AN |
| Preceded by | Federal Constituent Assembly (1685 AN-1693 AN) |
New session started |
12.I.1760 AN |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 801 deputies |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
Voting system |
Proportional representation (Sainte-Laguë method) |
Last election |
15-17.IX.1759 |
| Meeting place | |
The Federal Assembly (Alexandrian: Assemblée fédérale; Martino: Asamblea Federal; Wechua: Hukllachasqa Huñunakuy) is the lower house of the Cortes Federales, the legislature of Nouvelle Alexandrie. It sits in the Legislative Palace in Cárdenas alongside the Chamber of Peers; together with the King, the two houses make up the Cortes Federales.
The Assembly is composed of Deputies elected from each of the Federation's Regions by proportional representation, using the Sainte-Laguë method within each Region. Deputies serve five-year terms. The house has held 749 seats since the 1754 general election; following the 1758 New Alexandrian census it is enlarged to 801 seats at the 1759 general election, the first at which the Federation's thirteenth Region, Oportia, returns Deputies. The presiding officer is the Speaker of the Federal Assembly, who is elected by the Deputies and required to be impartial.
The Assembly regulates its own proceedings through its Standing Orders, a resolution of the house first adopted under the 1st Cortes Federales and amendable only by a two-thirds vote. Deputies elected on a single party's list are presumed to form one parliamentary party; the parties supporting the government are the government parties, and the largest party outside government is His Majesty's Loyal Opposition.
Since the 1754 general election, the Federal Humanist Party has been the largest party in the Assembly, holding 372 of the 749 seats, three short of the 375 then required for an absolute majority. The government of Premier José Manuel Montero, the President of the Government, holds office through the confidence-and-supply agreement concluded with twelve Aldurian independent Deputies.
Constitutional position
The Federal Assembly is established by Chapter IV of the Proclamation of Punta Santiago, the constitutional instrument of the Federation, and its composition and powers are further set out in the Cortes Federales Act, 1694. Under Article 38 of the Proclamation, the Cortes Federales consists of the King, the Federal Assembly, and the Chamber of Peers; the Assembly is the elected house and the originating chamber for most legislation. A bill on which the Chamber of Peers takes no decision within 60 days is deemed to have passed, so that the final legislative word rests with the Assembly.
Composition
Article 39 of the Proclamation provides that the Assembly is composed of the Deputies elected from each Region by proportional representation, with seats apportioned by law in proportion to population. The Cortes Federales Act, 1694 sets a floor of 619 Deputies and requires that the size of the house be revised to reflect the population of the Federation. The Assembly has stood at 749 seats since 1744 AN, when it was enlarged from 689.
Oportia acceded as the Federation's thirteenth Region in XII.1755 AN under the Act of Admission, and the Oportia Organic Act, 1756 settled the Region's permanent governance the following year. Because it acceded after the 1754 election, Oportia returned no Deputies to the 13th Cortes Federales. The 1758 New Alexandrian census, the first to enumerate the Region, provided the basis for re-apportionment: under the standing-revision requirement of the Cortes Federales Act, the Assembly is enlarged from 749 to 801 seats at the 1759 general election, of which 401 form an absolute majority. Oportia enters with 39 seats, and the other twelve Regions are revised upward without any losing seats. The 13th Cortes Federales, elected before Oportia's accession, sits at 749 seats for the remainder of its term.
Electoral system
Deputies are chosen by universal, free, equal, direct, and secret suffrage. Elections are held every five years, or earlier on a dissolution. Members are elected by proportional representation on open lists within each Region, seats being apportioned by the Sainte-Laguë method; a party must clear a threshold of 2 percent of the vote in a Region to share in that Region's seats, while independent candidates are exempt. The voting age is 18.
Mandate
A Deputy's term runs for five years from the election, or until the Cortes Federales is dissolved. Under Article 31 of the Proclamation, the King dissolves the Cortes Federales on the recommendation of the Federal Assembly, the decree of dissolution stating the time, methods, and preparations for the election that follows; a dissolution also follows a failed government or an unsuccessful investiture session. Deputies enjoy the parliamentary guarantees and privileges the Proclamation provides for the discharge of their office.
Standing Orders and organization
The Assembly regulates its business through the Standing Orders of the Federal Assembly, made under Article 38(4) of the Proclamation, which directs each house to lay down its own rules of procedure. The Standing Orders take the form of a resolution of the Assembly rather than an Act of the Cortes Federales, and so require neither Royal Assent nor the concurrence of the Chamber of Peers. They were first adopted under the 1st Cortes Federales and may be adopted or amended only by a two-thirds vote of the house.
The Speaker
The Speaker of the Federal Assembly is the sole presiding officer of the chamber, charged with applying the Standing Orders, keeping order, and conducting the business of the house. The Speaker must be wholly impartial and must give up any party affiliation for the duration of the office. Election takes place on the first day of the Assembly's sitting, in proceedings presided over by the King or a royal designate. A motion of no confidence in the Speaker may be moved by any two Deputies and carried by a majority of the house, but only once in a session year. When the Speaker is absent or incapacitated, another Deputy named by the Speaker presides in the Speaker's place; the Assembly keeps no standing office of deputy speaker.
Parliamentary parties
Deputies may organize into parliamentary parties. Members elected on the list of a single party are presumed to form one parliamentary party unless they give notice otherwise, and the Standing Orders set no minimum size for recognition. Each party regulates its own membership and internal procedure, notifying the Speaker of changes, and is represented in procedural business by a leader or a designated spokesperson. The parties supporting the government are the government parties, represented jointly by the President of the Government. The largest party that is not a government party is His Majesty's Loyal Opposition, or Official Opposition, whose leader is the Leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Deputies who join no party sit as independents.
Conduct of business
Legislation is initiated through the Assembly Hopper, into which any Deputy may place a bill in the prescribed form to await debate. Government bills are brought forward as government business at the request of the President of the Government; in an ordinary week the government may bring up to two bills, with a further slot reserved for a private member's bill endorsed by at least 35 percent of Deputies. Once each session the government designates an Opposition Week, in which the Official Opposition and the third-largest party bring bills and the government introduces none of its own except by leave. A bill is debated on the question that it be read and do pass, the Speaker first calling the sponsoring Deputy to speak in its defense; any Deputy may move an amendment, which is put to a vote unless the sponsor accepts it as friendly.
The Assembly also considers resolutions expressing its opinion and maintains a standing question period at which members of the Council of State answer questions from Deputies. At its first sitting after the State Opening of the Cortes Federales, or after a vacancy, the Assembly elects a nominee to the office of President of the Government and presents a Humble Address to the King seeking confirmation of the appointment; failure to carry the Address constitutes a lack of confidence and reopens the election.
Divisions
The Assembly divides to decide questions when the rules call for a vote. Divisions remain open for 48 hours, with Deputies voting "Aye", "Oui", or "Sí" in favor and "Noe" or "Non" against, or indicating an abstention. Unless otherwise provided, a question is carried by a simple majority of the Deputies voting. Procedural motions, among them points of order, motions to table, appeals from a ruling of the Speaker, and motions of no confidence, are taken in the order of precedence fixed by the Standing Orders. A successful motion of no confidence obliges the Council of State to advise the King to dissolve the Assembly within ten days, after which no further such motion is taken for the life of that Assembly.
Committees
The Standing Orders establish no committee system of their own. The Assembly's committees rest instead on Section 11 of the Cortes Federales Act, 1694, which provides for standing legislative committees, committees of inquiry, and a Mediation Committee between the two houses. The Assembly constitutes its committees by resolution at the opening of each legislature, drawing their membership from the parliamentary parties in proportion to their size. A standing legislative committee examines and reports the bills within its subject area, and the house may confer on it the power to approve or reject a bill outright in a given matter. Committees of inquiry are established for a defined purpose and duration.
Each committee elects a bureau of a chair, two deputy chairs, and two secretaries at its first meeting, and may in turn appoint subcommittees to report on a particular question or to prepare a first draft of a bill. The standing committees maintained by the 13th Cortes Federales are set out below.
| Committee | Members | Established |
|---|---|---|
| Constitutional Affairs | 46 | 1706 AN |
| Foreign Affairs | 38 | 1708 AN |
| Justice | 38 | 1708 AN |
| Defense | 38 | 1708 AN |
| Economic Affairs, Business, and Commerce | 38 | 1708 AN |
| Budget and Finances | 42 | 1706 AN |
| The Interior | 38 | 1708 AN |
| Healthcare and Social Care | 38 | 1706 AN |
| Civil Works and Transport | 34 | 1708 AN |
| Housing, Rural Affairs, and Local Government | 34 | 1708 AN |
| Energy and Environment | 34 | 1708 AN |
| Education | 34 | 1708 AN |
| Labor, Social Security, and Pensions | 30 | 1708 AN |
| Industry, Trade and Tourism | 30 | 1708 AN |
| Human, Civil and Social Rights | 24 | 1708 AN |
| Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | 24 | 1708 AN |
| Science, Technology, and Innovation | 24 | 1708 AN |
| Culture and Sports | 24 | 1708 AN |
| Telecommunications and Media | 24 | 1706 AN |
| International Cooperation and Development | 18 | 1706 AN |
| Public Administration | 32 | 1741 AN |
Composition of the 13th legislature
The 13th legislature opened on 12.I.1755 AN, following the 1754 general election. The Federal Humanist Party returned the largest bloc, with 372 of the 749 seats, and the government of Premier José Manuel Montero holds office on the confidence-and-supply agreement concluded with twelve Aldurian independent Deputies.
Parliamentary parties
| Party | Leader | Seats | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FHP | José Manuel Montero | 372 | Government | |
| DSP | Marcos Ferreira Gonçalves | 196 | Opposition (AJNA) | |
| WPP | Yuiza Bohi'o | 20 | ||
| FCP | Francisco Gabaza | 119 | Constructive opposition | |
| CGA | Elena Svensson | 10 | Opposition | |
| Independent & Unaligned | Various | 32 | 12 in confidence & supply; 20 crossbench | |
| Total | 749 | |||
Leadership
| Position | Holder | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Speaker | Carolina Mendez | FHP |
| Leader of the Opposition | Marcos Ferreira Gonçalves | DSP (AJNA) |
| Government Chief Whip | Daniela Ferrer | FHP |
See also
- Cortes Federales of Nouvelle Alexandrie
- Chamber of Peers of Nouvelle Alexandrie
- Standing Orders of the Federal Assembly of Nouvelle Alexandrie
- 13th Cortes Federales
- Speaker of the Federal Assembly of Nouvelle Alexandrie
- Opening of the Cortes Federales
- Lord Protector of the Cortes Federales
- President of the Government of Nouvelle Alexandrie
- Council of State of Nouvelle Alexandrie
- The Federal Gazette
