Parliament of the Nation

Pictured is the Upper Chamber of the Parliament of the Nation.

The Parliament of the Nation is Sayaffallah's legislative. Parliament is elected of representatives of every region in the country. Each region is given 5 representatives for a total of 120 regions which gives 600 representatives for the session of parliament. Parliament lasts from January 1 through January 1 with elections taking place December 1-5 in a staggered format across the regions. That means each day for 5 days there are 24 elections for 24 regions a day for a total of all 120 regions. Parliamentary representatives are paid a stipend amount for all expenses directly from the private treasury of the Sultan so that no compensation of the assembly comes from taxation of the citizens of the country.

The Parliament has the following duties:

• Establish new laws
• Provide oversight of the infrastructure
• Provide oversight of the judiciary
• Provide oversight of the media (propaganda against the Sultan is forbidden)
• Provide for disaster relief and emergency response during crises
• Remove old laws

History

Early History

As the tribes of Sayaffallah began to organize and come together during the early period of history around the year 900 the tribes formed the Council of Forest which met to discuss and decide matters relating to the tribes and to their interconnected well being. In 955 the Council of Forest appointed 10 representatives of their tribes to be the Circle of Nobles who would in turn serve to represent their chosen tribes before trade representatives and delegations from other nations. The Circle of Nobles decided in 960 to appoint 3 of their members to serve as a Trio of Elders to formally lead all of the tribes together in a collective band of leadership. The Trio of Elders served in its capacity until the dissolution of the Council of Forest in 970 which led to the Tribal Wars of 970. However the Circle of Nobles and Trio of Elders continued to meet in secrecy during the Tribal Wars of 970 until 990 when they appointed the first King to lead all of the tribes in peace. The appointed King was Saifus the Noble who called for all the tribes to meet together and to allow him to formalize their settlement of peace.

Saifus the Noble established peace between the tribes and established an agreement allowing him to serve as monarch and formally integrating all of the tribes into a nation. This agreement is known through history as the Treaty of Bridgements because it abridged the gap between the tribes and created formally the nation now known today as Sayaffallah. The Treaty of Bridgements also established a Monarch Assembly which would meet together to settle disputes and to decide the future of their collective gathering.

Articles of Separation

In 1025 the King was Plunic I who established his rule in short order after being confirmed to throne, his time as ruler was spent attempting to implement a stringent system of taxation in which the grains and wheats would be sent to the royal residence first and then from there distributed to the people. The rule of Plunic I greatly irritated the common people and led to several attempts to kill Plunic I by bandits and brigands throughout the countryside. However this did not deter Plunic I who issued guidance that the tributes were to be collected by force if necessary and that those who collected the tribute were entitled to keep 50% of what they collected so long as tribute was received by the storekeepers at the royal residence. This did not sit well with various factions specifically the older tribal families who felt disenfranchised in the political process

In 1028 three of the former tribal groups published what they announced as the Articles of Separation in which they formally left the union that recognized Plunic I as monarch and vowed instead to form their own union in separation from the rest. Plunic I reacted angrily by declaring that thse entities were villanous traitors and thieves and must be cut down and that their farmlands must be seized. This sparked the War of 1028 which lasted until 1045 and saw the formation of a stronger political union and the creation of a formal upper and lower house known as the Parliament of the Nation.

Construction of Parliamentary Assembly

Painting of the Parliamentary Assembly as seen and envisioned in 1101 after its completion.

In 1050 it was decided that Parliament must be given its own place in Bellissimomare, the capital, in which to meet and formally assemble each year. The Monarch, Quillus III, gave his royal assent for such an assembly to be built and ordered that it be placed on a hill on the banks of the river. Such a hill could not be found in all of Bellissimomare so it was ordered that the hill be constructed out of chiseled granite covered in dirt and sod so as to retain a natural appearance. So grand was the design and the concept that construction took until 1101 to complete with over 12,000 workmen constantly working to chisel the fine details of its grand portico's and inner council areas and over 60,000 laborers working to put in place enormous segments of marble block cut from large quarries outside of the capital.

The Parliamentary Assembly contained two palaces connected by a large marble corridor known as the "Passage de Gallery" with chambers on each side for a special parliamentary guard for both chambers. The lower chamber known colloquially at the time as the Peasants Gallery was designed for 300 persons while the upper chamber was designed for only 50 to meet and discuss. The upper chamber was designated as space for the male descendants of the Circle of Nobles while the lower chamber was for 300 representatives appointed by each of the regions in the nation by either popular vote or by decision of the landowners in the regions.

Royal Reforms of 1260

Parliament's next major chapter came in the reforms of Darius XV who ordered that the parliament be reorganized into a 600 seat lower house and a 100 seat upper house consisting of the entirety of the original descendants of the Circle of Nobles at the time. To accommodate the increase in size the King ordered that the size of parliament be increased and that construction begin to enlarge the size of the lower house of parliament to include seating for 600 and for enough space in the galleries that 65,000 could watch the proceedings going on below in the parliament itself thus becoming a more representative parliament of the public and the people. The King instituted an immediate war campaign against the nations to the north, east and west in a simultaneous war of plunder. The people rallied to the cause knowing that the plunder would both profit them and also serve to fund the construction of the new parliament building.

The War of Plunder lasted for 4 years and served highly successful in both increasing the stores of the treasury and establishing firmly the reputation of Sayaffallah as a powerful warring nation that could decimate its neighbors all at the same time without so much as lifting a finger to do so. The wars resulted in new lands for Sayaffallah and increased the wealth of all its people as the size and scope of Sayaffallah began to formally increase. The new parliament building was completed in a record 10 years time and when completed became known as the wonder of the nation. King Darius XV is still known to this day for his role in making the parliament a dazzling gem for all the world to see.

The Nobles Revolt of 1312

In 1312 the Nobles Revolt began over a lack of representation in either house. Many of the nobles felt that the laws requiring only direct descendants of the original Circle of Nobles prevented them from having adequate say in the affairs of the nation. So a group of over 6,000 nobles marched in full military armor and weapons to the capital and ransacked the parliament building. The King (Darius XVI) in his rage ordered the nobles arrested but after listening to them plead their case in eloquent terms the King gave them a pardon and ordered the Nobles to pay for the rebuilding of the parliament structures.

King Darius XVI then ordered that after the parliament was rebuilt to its former glory that it be open for representatives of all nobles to be seated in the upper house for a total of 200 seats while the lower house would continue to hold 600 seats with the gallery space for over 65,000 people to attend on each of the sessions. The people of Sayaffallah rejoiced at the news of peace between the nobles and the King and to this day the 8th of March is celebrated with bonfires at night and flowers thrown into the streets the following mornings to symbolize the nobles revolt in the evening and the peace that was upon the capital in the morning.

The Islamic Invasion of 1600

As Islamic tribes and groups began to gain closer proximity to the capital the parliament came under increasing threat until the country was completely plunged under Islamic rule during the 1600s and was disbanded. The Islamic rulers kept the parliament building maintained and in excellent condition as it now served as a great library housing over 6 million copies of Islamic manuscripts and writings and religious texts that could be read by all of the people. The desire of the Islamic rulers was that in keeping the parliament building and turning it into a free library for the people it would both create goodwill and also serve to convert many of its citizens to the faith of Islam.

However the parliament continued to meet in secret within the same building it once met in before the Islamic invasion. Many of the old members would gather among the rows of books and would pretend to read the books aloud but in the ancient language known to many of the common people but not to the Islamic invaders. And in reality instead of reading they would be reciting the great speeches once spoken within this chamber and while the galleries filled with only a few hundred to listen many would run out of the galleries and tell their friends and family what they would hear. So for many the parliament during the Islamic occupation became a symbol of resistance and a symbol of the old life of freedom that used to exist in Sayaffallah.

The Revolution of 1900

In 1900 the Revolution occurred overthrowing the Islamic occupiers who had control of the country for over 300 years and control was returned to the Orthodox Church and to the new monarch who was named King. The Sultan opened up free elections and instituted the upper house to consist of those individuals who could prove their bloodline to be an extension of the original nobles class existing before the time of the Islamic occupation. Many of these individuals still owned the vast estates and properties that has been in their families since before the 1600s so filling the 200 seats of the Upper House became an easy task to accomplish. And then the lower house was filled to its capacity of 600 seats from all 120 regions with 5 representatives from each region coming to the capital in full representation. A new constitution was written giving the new Sultan absolute authority but the Sultan came before the parliament and stated that a monarch should serve his people best by being a compliment to the Parliament rather than an oppressor and thus declined to exercise his power over the parliament during his time in power.

During the first session of the parliament after the occupation the entire galleries of 65,000 people were full to capacity and this was not enough to hold the people as thousands more poured into the corridors outside of the galleries and into the open rotunda and courtyards and porticos. In a total count it was determined that 260,000 people were in attendance that first day and so all the doors of the parliament were flung open so that the sound of legislators arguing back and forth could spill out like beautiful music of freedom and so the tradition began of windows on the uppermost floors being open during the sessions of parliament so that those outside can hear the words spoken indoors.

Parliament today

Today Parliament continues to function and the Monarch has only exercised discretionary power 8 times with 4 of those being to reject budgets that the Sultan felt were to extavagant and abusive of the peoples funds. The parliament meets on weekends and in the evenings of weekdays when businesses are closed so that the people of the nation can come and listen to the debate and see the votes counted and passed. The parliament meets for a yearly term after which all of its laws and business is published directly into the Journal of Parliamentary Events which is organized chronollogically for each day it meets with complete transcripts of all debates, committee actions and final vote tallies

Public attendance

Great amounts of talk has been given in parliament to increasing the size of visitor galleries to accommodate more people. There has not been a single instance during which parliament is in session that the 65,000 people limit is reached and maintained. Typically people will stay for the entirety of parliament being in session remaining as quiet as mice during the proceedings only to roar in approval or disapproval after a speech is given and lasting for a total of 10 seconds before instantly quieting themselves so as not to miss what is said next. This phenomena has been labeled as Polia and many social scientists have found that entire families will pack a picnic supper or if it is in the lunch hour on a weekend they will pack a lunch and all will go and watch the parliament until it is over so that they can see what their government is doing.

This public attendance has led to problems of overcrowding as people attempt to squeeze into the galleries as much people as they can so as not to miss the weekly debates. Socially it has turned very much into a spectator sport with one side of galleries sporting the side that is directly beneath them while the other side supports the side directly beneath them. The only neutral gallery is ironically in the very front and the very back facing the front and back respectively in which those who are undecided sit. These divisions did not occur as a result of organized effort by parliament or those organizing the galleries this segmentation has occurred organically as supporters seek to sit closest to their own ideological side so as to energize them with their cheers after their side has made a particularly good debate.

Member privileges

Members of Parliament are given the privilege of using parliamentary recreational facilities built underneath the parliamentary parking complex which includes several swimming pools as well as the parliamentary library. These facilities are available to specific members of parliament as well as their families but are closed to the general public regardless of exceptions. The parliamentary facilities also include a 3 fitness centers with one for males and one for females and one for both so that those who are of the muslim faith and do not wish to exercise with the opposite gender are not compelled to do so. Likewise all swimming facilities are the same, however the library is open to all genders.

Members also have privileges in the national library complex able to access it after hours and have no limit on the number of items they can reserve or check out however they are required to adhere to the 1 week check out time frame that all library patrons must abide by. Members of parliament are allowed access to the National Archives and have the ability to schedule a meeting at any time with the Sultan depending on the Sultans calendar availability which stays moderately full all year round.

Members are also given parking privileges in the Parliamentary Parking complex which is maintained underground and is protected by the Parliamentary Guard. The parking complex is automated in that a member only need pull into a space on the top deck and their car is lowered into a protected and reserved space for them below ground. When it is time to pick up their vehicle they enter their PIN number into the security console and insert their parliamentary ID card and the car is automatically retrieved from the underground garage and raised up into the space they parked in on the top deck.

Composition

The present composition of the parliament.

The parliament is composed of 600 seats with the main party being the Royalist Party and the second largest party being that of the Tradists Party and Energists who form the official opposition but are not in a coalition together after failing to achieve a formal coalition agreement after the last election a year ago. The minor parties include the Communists and Greens both of whom failed to achieve 100 vote threshold to be considered part of the "official opposition".

Within the parliament only those parties with recognition as government (majority party) and those with opposition (100 seats or more) are guaranteed speaking slots. Minor parties must request a speaking slot ahead of debate in order to participate in a parliamentary sessions debate schedule. All parties are able to submit legislation, however legislation submitted by the minor parties is heard in the last week of a given month and is given a simple up or down vote unless the government authorizes debate in which case the minor parties arguments are heard in the bill otherwise it is given just a simple up or down vote.

Legislative process

The cover of the 2015 Annual Laws in Review journal published at the end of session the day before elections begin

A bill (proposed law) is submitted into the parliament and from here it is placed on the schedule of the month. If it is government legislation it will be heard during the first week of the month. Opposition legislation is given a hearing on the second week of the month and minor party legislation is given an up or down vote on the third week of the month unless the government grants it a debate. Typically on the third week any remaining government bills are heard that did not fit into the first week schedule. Bills from one month are strictly prohibited from running into another month. Each month has its own schedule and plate of bills to be heard, considered and voted on and if a bill is out of time in a month it is discarded until end of session when the government can pull bills for the first weekend of december to be heard and passed but by December 1 on the regular weekday whichever falls first the parliament is suspended and elections held.

Once a bill passes the lower house it is sent straight to the upper house which has 1 weekend each week to pass the bills sent from the lower house. It is required by law to consider and give a simple up or down vote to laws passed by the lower house. No debate is entertained for lower house legislation. The consideration phase simply is a reading of the bill text which is then accepted by default by the clerk of the upper house and then an up or down vote is held on it.

If a bill passes both houses it is sent to the Royal Palace for an immediate signature after which it is placed in the Government Archives both on the internet and physically in the rotunda on a placard for the public to read as it is now considered official law of the nation.