Parliament of Meckelnburgh
|
This article or section is a work in progress. The information below may be incomplete, outdated, or subject to change. |
| Parliament of Meckelnburgh | |
| 11th Parliament | |
| Type | |
|---|---|
| Type |
Bicameral |
| Houses |
College of Lords Chamber of Deputies |
| History | |
| Founded | 1685 AN |
New session started |
1733 AN |
| Leadership | |
Monarch |
|
Chancellor |
|
Lord Speaker |
|
President of the Chamber of Deputies |
|
Leader of the Opposition |
|
| Structure | |
| Seats |
478, consisting of —187 Lords Temporal, Spiritual and Ordinary —291 Deputies of Parliament |
 | |
College of Lords political groups |
|
 | |
Chamber of Deputies political groups |
|
| Elections | |
Chamber of Deputies voting system |
Party-list proportional representation |
Chamber of Deputies next election |
1738 AN (unless dissolved) |
| Meeting place | |
|
Enolany Palace Royal City of Alexandretta | |
| Website | |
| parliament.mb | |
The Parliament of Meckelnburgh is the bicameral legislature of Meckelnburgh, the majority constituent country of the United Kingdom of Meckelnburgh. Parliament comprises two distinct chambers, the College of Lords and the Chamber of Deputies, encompassing the representative democratic functions of Meckelnburgh proper. Parliament serves as the primary legislative authority in Meckelnburgh, including the autonomous Palatinate of Hergilsey, responsible for enacting laws and overseeing the government's functioning. Parliament is convened in the chambers at Enolany Palace in Alexandretta.
The majority coalition in the Chamber of Deputies is responsible for the formation of Their Royal Majesty's Government and the country's cabinet. The Chamber also elects the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, Meckelnburgh's heads of government, who formally serve at Their Royal Majesty's pleasure.
Structure and authority
The Parliament of Meckelnburgh is formally the legislature of Meckelnburgh proper as a constituent nation of the Kingdom. However, because there is no legislature representing citizens from Meckelnburgh as well as the constituent countries of Branniboria, the Prince-Archabbacy of Salem and the Grand Duchy of Iselande, the Parliament of Meckelnburgh enacts laws for the benefit of the entire kingdom when necessary. Meckelnburgh's legislative authority preempts the authority of Branniboria, Salem and Iselande, and retains sole authority in areas such as:
- Maintaining independence and defense.
- Conducting foreign relations.
- Legislating Meckelnburghish nationality.
- Administering the nobility, orders of chivalry, and symbols of the kingdom.
- Regulating navigation, aviation, and shipping.
As a semi-constitutional monarchy, all legislation from Parliament requires the royal assent of the Monarch, currently Queen Ĉielero III, and no override is possible. Though not common, the power to withhold consent is an active function of the Meckelnburghish crown. The Monarch may also dissolve Parliament when deemed necessary, triggering a mandatory election.
College of Lords
The upper house of Parliament is the College of Lords, which represents the nobility and serves as a forum for the concerns of the country's noble and ecclesiastical individuals. Members gain their positions through hereditary titles or are appointed, as are the Lords Spiritual, representatives of the Church of Meckelnburgh, and the Lords Ordinary of Appeal, who serve as the highest court in the Kingdom as a whole.
Chamber of Deputies
The lower house of Parliament is the Chamber of Deputies, which represents the common citizens of Meckelnburgh. The Chamber comprises elected representatives, Deputies, who are elected at least every five years, unless Parliament is prematurely dissolved under the authority of the Monarch. Since its creation in 1685 AN, Parliament has only been dissolved early once, in 1723 AN.
Effectiveness
As the principal legislative organ of the Kingdom, the Parliament of Meckelnburgh is recognized with a perfect score on the Micras Democracy Index in electoral process and pluralism, with high functioning and involvement from the public.
Elections
Elections to the Chamber of Deputies occur by party-list proportional representation, calculated under the D'Hondt method. Accordingly, no independent candidates are permitted. Elections are closed list: each party designates a priority list of those candidates who will take their seats. Parties seeking to be elected must reach an electoral threshold of 3% of the total votes to sit.
Parliament is elected at large across all provinces in Meckelnburgh. However, the autonomous community of Hergilsey elects its own 15 deputies, leaving a remainder of 276 seats designated for voters on the mainland.
Eligible voters
Any person who obtains the age of 17 and is otherwise eligible may vote for Parliamentary elections. Voting is permitted for Meckelnburghish citizens or nations anywhere in the world and for permanent residents. A citizen or national from a nation granted freedom of movement must demonstrate an intent to domicile in Meckelnburgh for at least 180 days prior to an election. It is constitutionally impermissible to disenfranchise a voter for a crime or other act.
Voting in Meckelnburgh is mandatory for any capacitated voter residing within the country, though the ballot may be blank. Failure to vote incurs a Ʀ 5.00 fine.
Campaigns
Candidates and parties may pursue election funds beginning 59 days prior to a general election. Advertisements and other forms of organized "electioneering" are permitted 34 to 3 days prior to an election. In the case of a snap election, all forms of campaigning may begin on the dissolution of Parliament, with an election held the first Saturday no fewer than 34 days following.
Campaign funds are heavily regulated. In no election for Parliament may a party spend more than Ʀ 3.00 per eligible voter or receive from donations in kind. Volunteers as natural persons do not apply. Public funds of 50 ⱥ per eligible voter are given to parties who held a seat in the previous Parliament, have a membership of 1% of the national population, or obtain a petition signed by as many people during the fundraising period. A "party" for electioneering and fundraising is itself and any other affiliated committees or foundations.
A campaign may use donations from a current election or recurring membership fees outside an election cycle. Only natural persons, who must be eligible voters of Meckelnburgh proper, may donate to a campaign, at a limit of Ʀ 450 per contest.
Political parties
A political party in Meckelnburgh is any group of one or more natural persons who seek election to any local or national role within a five-year period. Parties may be registered with the Electoral Commission for any cause, save advocacy of treason under the law or the degradation of any peoples. Any political group must give a semi-annual accounting of income and expenditures, available for public reading.
| Party | Abbr. | Ideology | Position | Leaders(s) | Deputies | Lords | Hergilsey | Alexandretta | Membership | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Greens United | GN | Green politics Liberal socialism |
Left-wing | 77 / 291
|
20 / 187
|
||||||
| New Progressive Alliance | NPA | Social democracy Big tent (left) |
Center-left | 77 / 291
|
56 / 187
|
||||||
| Nazarene Heritage Union | NAZ | Nazarene democracy Classical liberalism |
Center-right | 40 / 291
|
16 / 187
|
||||||
| Royalist Party | RP | Monarchism Conservative liberalism |
Right-wing | 32 / 291
|
27 / 187
|
||||||
| Socialist Party | SP | Democratic socialism Left-wing populism |
Left-wing | 25 / 291
|
— | ||||||
| Meckelnish Alternative | ALT | Social liberalism Libertarianism |
Center-right | 17 / 291
|
15 / 187
|
||||||
| New Revolutionary Party | REV | Libertarian communism Secularism |
Radical left | 14 / 291
|
— | ||||||
| Rhinoceros Party | RNO | Syncretism Direct democracy |
Center | 7 / 291
|
3 / 187
|
||||||
| Party for the Animals | PFA | Animal rights Democratic socialism |
Left-wing | 2 / 291
|
— | ||||||
| Citizens' Nation | CN | National conservatism Right-wing populism |
Radical right | — | 1 / 187
|
||||||
Former political partes
| Party | Abbr. | Ideology | Position | Final leaders(s) | Final membership | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party for Harmony | HMY | Progressivism Humanism |
Center-left | Merged with the New Progressive Alliance in 1722 AN | ||||
| Voluntaryist Bloc | VB | Voluntaryism Social liberalism Libertarianism |
Right-wing | Merged with Meckelnish Alternative in 1721 AN | ||||
Previous contests
Parliaments
- First Parliament: 1685 AN—1690 AN
- Second Parliament: 1690 AN—1695 AN
- Third Parliament: 1695 AN—1700 AN
- Fourth Parliament: 1700 AN—1705 AN
- Fifth Parliament: 1705 AN—1710 AN
- Sixth Parliament: 1710 AN—1715 AN
- Seventh Parliament: 1715 AN—1720 AN
- Eighth Parliament: 1720 AN—1723 AN
- Nineth Parliament: 1723 AN—1728 AN
- 10th Parliament: 1728 AN—1733 AN
- 11th Parliament: 1733 AN—present
Election of 1723
The 1723 AN general election for the Chamber of Deputies was the first off-cycle election in the history of Meckelnburgh following the dissolution of Parliament by Queen Ĉielero III two months prior. The election was triggered by the so-called "Florian Question." In 1722 AN, the New Progressive Alliance, in coalition with The Greens United for 38 years, abandoned the coalition to vote with Their Royal Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition to end sanctions against the Confederate States of Floria following the Florian invasion of Port Balaine in 1706. The eventual backlash resulted in the collapse of the coalition and the failure of Parliament to govern. A snap election was thus held after Parliament was dissolved.
Results
| Affiliation | Votes | Deputies | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | HGY | % | Before | Elected | Change | ||
| The Greens United | 1,644,326 | 37.9% | 63,548 | 28.3% | 77 | 112 | +35 | |
| Nazarene Heritage Union | 624,902 | 14.4% | 27,189 | 12.1% | 40 | 43 | +3 | |
| Socialist Party | 454,998 | 10.5% | 15,910 | 7.1% | 25 | 29 | +4 | |
| Royalist Party | 370,046 | 8.5% | 13,694 | 6.1% | 32 | 25 | -7 | |
| New Progressive Alliance | 348,808 | 8.0% | 43,606 | 19.4% | 77 | 25 | -52 | |
| Meckelnish Alternative | 263,856 | 6.1% | 28,096 | 12.5% | 17 | 19 | +2 | |
| New Revolutionary Party | 285,094 | 6.6% | 9,263 | 4.1% | 14 | 19 | +5 | |
| Party for the Animals | 157,666 | 3.6% | 4,831 | 2.2% | 2 | 10 | +8 | |
| Rhinoceros Party | 136,428 | 3.1% | 13,994 | 6.2% | 7 | 9 | +2 | |
| Citizens' Nation | 41,476 | 1.0% | 3,939 | 1.8% | — | — | — | |
| Total | 4,327,600 | 99.7% | 224,070 | 99.7% | 291 | 291 | — | |
| Invalid ballots | 12,619 | 0.29% | 585 | 0.26% | ||||
| Registered (% turnout) | 5,045,554 | 86.0% | 267,533 | 84.0% | ||||
| Majority of Government | 156 | 151 | -5 | |||||
