Xagill
- Thread starter Rocketdog
- Start date
The Parliament of Xagill is the legislative branch of the Xagillian political system. The Parliament is unicameral, consisting of the National Assembly. The National Assembly was officially decreed by King Alexander XII in 1759
National Assembly
Governments are formed in the Assembly, where the leader of the majority group is appointed Prime Minister. This is usually a member of the Liberal National Party or the Labour Party.
The National Assembly can passes bill into law by a majority vote. Any member may propose a bill, but most legislation is proposed by government ministers.
Procedure
Every Thursday, the Prime Minister and the cabinet may be questioned by members of the House. Questions are asked by the Government backbenchers and the Shadow ministers mainly. Some questions may be asked by members of parliament, but this is unusual unless there is an issue concerning their electorate.
Sessions of question time can be rather rowdy as members regularly exchange insults. As such, the Speaker has several disciplinary powers at their discretion. Members can be removed from the House and potentially banned for a finite period of time. Most other debate throughout the day is sedated.
The House has a quorum of a majority of members. In practice, the government and opposition choose to ignore this rule. If a member suggests the absence of a quorum the Speaker must hold a roll call. If the quorum is not met, business must halt until it is. Members of the opposition usually use quorum calls to delay votes, or occasionally to simply annoy the government.
Votes are not taken by formal divisions. Rather, each seat has a voting machine on their table. TThey have a card slot and a screen. Members insert their card to verify their identity, and select one of the three options: "Yes," "No," or "Present."
Chamber
The Chamber was completed in 1760, by royal degree in the Aslax Palace (now known as parliament house) This construction was an addon to the original, which for a year met in the grand ballroom.
In 2006 the voting machines, cushions and seating were renovated, paving for a much more comfortable seat. Additionally screen were added in order to inform the public on ongoing votes and business in the chamber.
The Chamber is large, capable of seating far more than there are members. This was intended to allow for additional members, at its max it has held 573 members. At the head of the Chamber is a dais. At the upper tier, the King sit for yearly addresses to Parliament as well as the opening of a new session. The Speaker sits in the lower tier. The seats are arranged in a horseshoe shape. The government members sit to the Speaker's right. The opposition sits to the left. The ministers sit in the front row, directly across from the opposition's shadow ministers.
Furthermore tiered seating allows approximately 2000 visitors in the public gallery to listen to the Assembly when in session. Ground floor seating is restricted to diplomats and special events in order for member's safety.
Elections
The National Assembly is elected by Mixed-member proportional representation. 168 members are elected from local electorates using the first-past-the-post system. Additionally, 168 are allocated proportionally to the parties, factoring in the local seats already won by each party. This method ensures that the whole number of seats represents the national party vote, while maintain a decent amount of local representation. In order to obtain seats from the proportional vote, a party must receive 5 percent of vote, or win three local seats. 48 seats are given to the monarchy, about half of these seats form the Royal Xagillian Party and the rest are given to party members based on a lottery.
The boundaries of the electorates are drawn by the Xagillian Electoral Commision, based on population and the number of seats in parliament. Such boundaries must be redrawn every 10 years, but usually are redrawn every 5 years, with the coincidence of an election.
In the case of overhang seats (when a party wins more local seats than they are proportionately entitled to) the Election commission adds a seat to the total number, and computes the election results again. This is repeated until the party or parties that received overhang seats are allotted the amount of local seats they won. This ensures that the parties do not receive disproportionate influence.
National Assembly
Governments are formed in the Assembly, where the leader of the majority group is appointed Prime Minister. This is usually a member of the Liberal National Party or the Labour Party.
The National Assembly can passes bill into law by a majority vote. Any member may propose a bill, but most legislation is proposed by government ministers.
Procedure
Every Thursday, the Prime Minister and the cabinet may be questioned by members of the House. Questions are asked by the Government backbenchers and the Shadow ministers mainly. Some questions may be asked by members of parliament, but this is unusual unless there is an issue concerning their electorate.
Sessions of question time can be rather rowdy as members regularly exchange insults. As such, the Speaker has several disciplinary powers at their discretion. Members can be removed from the House and potentially banned for a finite period of time. Most other debate throughout the day is sedated.
The House has a quorum of a majority of members. In practice, the government and opposition choose to ignore this rule. If a member suggests the absence of a quorum the Speaker must hold a roll call. If the quorum is not met, business must halt until it is. Members of the opposition usually use quorum calls to delay votes, or occasionally to simply annoy the government.
Votes are not taken by formal divisions. Rather, each seat has a voting machine on their table. TThey have a card slot and a screen. Members insert their card to verify their identity, and select one of the three options: "Yes," "No," or "Present."
Chamber
The Chamber was completed in 1760, by royal degree in the Aslax Palace (now known as parliament house) This construction was an addon to the original, which for a year met in the grand ballroom.
In 2006 the voting machines, cushions and seating were renovated, paving for a much more comfortable seat. Additionally screen were added in order to inform the public on ongoing votes and business in the chamber.
The Chamber is large, capable of seating far more than there are members. This was intended to allow for additional members, at its max it has held 573 members. At the head of the Chamber is a dais. At the upper tier, the King sit for yearly addresses to Parliament as well as the opening of a new session. The Speaker sits in the lower tier. The seats are arranged in a horseshoe shape. The government members sit to the Speaker's right. The opposition sits to the left. The ministers sit in the front row, directly across from the opposition's shadow ministers.
Furthermore tiered seating allows approximately 2000 visitors in the public gallery to listen to the Assembly when in session. Ground floor seating is restricted to diplomats and special events in order for member's safety.
Elections
The National Assembly is elected by Mixed-member proportional representation. 168 members are elected from local electorates using the first-past-the-post system. Additionally, 168 are allocated proportionally to the parties, factoring in the local seats already won by each party. This method ensures that the whole number of seats represents the national party vote, while maintain a decent amount of local representation. In order to obtain seats from the proportional vote, a party must receive 5 percent of vote, or win three local seats. 48 seats are given to the monarchy, about half of these seats form the Royal Xagillian Party and the rest are given to party members based on a lottery.
The boundaries of the electorates are drawn by the Xagillian Electoral Commision, based on population and the number of seats in parliament. Such boundaries must be redrawn every 10 years, but usually are redrawn every 5 years, with the coincidence of an election.
In the case of overhang seats (when a party wins more local seats than they are proportionately entitled to) the Election commission adds a seat to the total number, and computes the election results again. This is repeated until the party or parties that received overhang seats are allotted the amount of local seats they won. This ensures that the parties do not receive disproportionate influence.