Seinoku General Worldbuilding Thread V.2

1952 Seinokan general election | Predicica (www.predicica.com/event/1952-Seinokan-general-election)

1952 Seinokan general election


General elections for the 9th Royal Diet were held on November 11, 1952, pursuant to the Skandan Independence Act of 1951, which prescribed the date for the first election with universal suffrage for the Royal Diet.

Background
Originally, the Royal Diet was only elected by Andrennian colonists, members of the business community, civil servants, and the Skandan nobility (approved by the Ko'i) in the Skandan Union, a federation of protectorates dividing Andrennian Skanda. The council initially served in an advisory capacity. Over time, as lobbying developed in the council, its influence grew over the Governor-General. The success of his policy depended on the support of the colonial elite, mostly Andrennian businessmen and Skandan nobles. In the Protectorate of West Skanda, power was centralized in a lieutenant governor residing in the capital Hokkyo who advised the Governor-General, personally lobbying on behalf of local interests.

The Valkyrists took power in Andrenne after the 1932 Royal Massacre. Kamaheo Ko'i Akashikoa started the Koe Revolt, an attempt to secede Skanda during the chaos, but was quickly defeated. The new Andrennian leader Viktor Nyström banned all Skandan political parties, replaced Akashikoa with Hakurakoya, and established a one-party state in Skanda, under the fascist Royal Rule Assistance Association (Taiseiyokusankai).

The Skandan Liberation Army marched into Kuhena in 1951. Most members of the Royal Diet fled to West Skanda. The Taiseiyokusankai was banned by the Skandan Independence Act. The Act laid out the 2-year transition to independence for the Andrennian colony of the Skandan Union. Many of the Taiseiyokusankai refugees claimed they have always been anti-fascists. They formed the majority of restored, pre-1932 political parties. A general election for the Royal Diet was scheduled in 1952.

For the purposes of the Act, the franchise was expanded to universal suffrage. New constituencies for the Diet were created. It expanded the total number of seats to 468. The election was an indirect referendum on the future form of government. The parties elected to the 9th Royal Diet served as the assembly to draft the first constitution of an independent Skanda. For inclusive inter-party approval, votes for the new constitution and subsequent amendments require a 2/3 majority.

In East Skanda, the Socialist Party of Skanda established a provisional socialist republic. The SPS rejected the Royal Diet's authority in West Skanda. They demanded the complete withdrawal of Andrennian forces and ordered the Skandan Royal Army in Hokkyo to obey the Skandan Liberation Army. The rebellious syndicalist wing of the Socialist Party of Skanda dominated the party ranks in West Skanda. Syndicalist leader Yahya Sumulong declared their formal separation, established the Skandan Syndicalist Party, and took over the local SLA militia committees. The militia committees were promptly disbanded. Many joined the Skandan Royal Army. It was part of a secret agreement with Governor-General Ernst Olandernto in return for general amnesty to SLA rebels.

Viscount Machida Chuji replaced Baron Kantaro Suzuki as leader of the National Party, the pro-Andrennian, royalist faction that ruled West Skanda since the protectorate was established. He was appointed caretaker prime minister by Olandernto. Chuji started communications with former Ko'i Akashikoa, who was exiled to Alnaria. He offered the King and his family to visit West Skanda in anticipation of a Kamaheo restoration. The King rejected the offer and insisted on a referendum to let the people decide on reunification with East Skanda.

The issue of unification and the status of the monarchy were hotly debated in the Royal Diet. The pro-republic Liberal Party was on the verge of tearing itself apart, between pro-unification and anti-monarchy. Its leader, Magnus Kozu, explained that their division is "neither about monarchy versus republic nor reunification versus separation, but about democracy versus dictatorship." Due to the limited time frame, the Governor-General threatened to dissolve the diet and let the Andrennian government decide. The Skandan Unification Referendum was held on June 18, 1951. Following universal suffrage rules, it was narrowly rejected by 54.15% of the voters. Anti-republic and pro-unification supporters questioned the legitimacy of the vote due to widespread bribery and violence during the limited campaign period.

The general election was expected to occur the following year. Ko'i Akashikoa pledged to delay his return until the election was finished. He feared his presence might invite royalist subversion. The Skandan Syndicalist Party announced the Democratic Front coalition, inviting all minority parties and independents. They wanted to unite the opposition to win against the colonial establishment.

Campaign

National-Liberal coalition campaign


Most national polls indicated that the Skandan Syndicalist Party and its Democratic Front coalition partners were more popular than the National Party and the Liberal Party. To increase their odds, the National and Liberals joined forces to enter the election as the "National Citizens' Alliance." In drafting a new constitution, they wanted to establish a constitutional democracy with Skandan suffrage. The new Royal Diet would become bicameral with an elected lower house. The Skandan nobility and government appointees would become members of a hereditary upper house. They promised to restore Ko'i Akashikoa to the throne with full sovereignty rights. Based on a Goyanean parliamentary framework, the executive government will be subordinate to a strong parliament.

Their campaign focused on the first Skandan Red Scare. In early 1952, mass purges were ongoing in East Skanda. Enemies of the Socialist Republic were labeled "anti-revolutionaries." These included anarchists, syndicalists, SLA mutineers, Andrennian colonists, Taiseiyokusankai members, and royalist rebels. Thousands were sent to the Hokya prison camp system. There were purge survivors in West Skanda, mostly Valkyrist collaborators and ex-SPS members. Stories of their survival and eyewitness accounts of the prison camps were often published in Yomiuri Shimbun, Daihoku Andrennian Financial, and other mainstream newspapers.

One campaign poster depicted the contrast between a seemingly paranoid socialist East Skanda and peaceful royalist West Skanda, subtitled with the respective slogans "社会主義者は暴力的な独裁者です。"("The socialists are violent dictators") and "「国民同盟」は民主主義です" ("National Citizens' Alliance is democracy."). It implied the socialist movement, including the Democratic Front, shared the authoritarian policies of the Socialist Party of Skanda.

The base of the Liberal Party was the middle class. Its upper-class supporters led the Nationalist Party and gave the coalition the advantage of huge donations. The Skandan nobility owned the most desirable lands in the countryside, including major trade centers and housing for the rural population. Through vote buying and coercion, Nationalist nobles and businessmen influenced their tenants in a rotten borough system to install their favored candidates. Provincial and county councils were only elected by nobles. The economic program of the Liberal-Nationalist manifesto was designed to create a free-market economy by promising subsidies to Zaibatsus, redistributing farmlands to well-off and middle-class smallholders, and building a literate, industrial base with compulsory public education to industrialize Seinoku's agricultural economy.

Democratic Front campaign


The Democratic Front campaign rallied behind the Skandan Syndicalist Party manifesto, A New Skanda. It was a radical transformation to "democratize the country in all walks of life." It promised to redistribute land, nationalize key industries, empower trade unions, expand the public health service, and disband the Zaibatsus. Their plans for the new constitution featured a republican democracy and a separation of powers. Gun ownership would be enshrined as a civil right. A popularly elected president would lead the executive branch. The unicameral diet would be retained without hereditary or appointed seats. A supreme court would strike down unconstitutional acts. The manifesto suggested a soft Skandan unification in "two separate, socialist republics under a federal union" in the future.

SSP's wartime role as the local branch of the Socialist Party of Skanda was widely publicized. In the countryside, the Skandan Liberation Army killed Andrennian and Skandan landlords to liberate peasants. It was part of a wider effort to deplete crucial supplies to the Taiseiyokusankai regime. Supporters in heavy industry and public transport helped the SLA commit industrial sabotage, dismantle railways, and blow up military warehouses. Their actions were often romanticized in folktale and guerilla press stories of a fictional SLA rebel named "Noragami" (Stray god), the archnemesis of Andrennian colonial overlords and Taiseiyokusankai collaborators. The general public saw the SPS as defenders of the poor and victims of injustice.

Governor-General Olandernto understood SPS's immense popularity meant they could not be excluded from the elections. He negotiated with the SPS branch in West Skanda to allow their candidates to run in the 1952 election. Yahya Sumulong, as a secret syndicalist, had been planning a coup in the Provisional Socialist Republic of Skanda. Syndicalists were purged from the SPS leadership by the Akirist socialists. He was advised against the coup plot by West Skandan SLA commander Luwai Taruc. Instead, after securing amnesty for SLA activities from Olandernto, they formed the Skandan Syndicalist Party.

The Democratic Alliance appealed to the masses. The majority were poor tenant farmers, poor smallholders, and factory workers. Zenaigakuren, the SSP student wing, alone, had 120,000 members. The coalition united leftist organizations, the largest of them were the National Farmers' Union and the SSP, all led by former commanders in the Hukbalaad, East Meterra Anti-Kamaheo Armed Front, and the Blue Eagles. The coalition also included progressive organizations such as the League for National Liberation, Anti-Traitors League, Anti-Andrennian League, and the Civil Liberties Union, controlled by the intellectual elite of the upper and middle classes.

Violence


Olandernto allowed ex-SLA members to keep their weapons as part of their amnesty agreement. This allowed many families in the countryside to defend themselves against voter coercion sponsored by the powerful landlords. In the cities, ex-SLA guerillas patrolled the streets as members of the new Royal Skandan Constabulary, the gendarmery predecessor of the Royal Seinokan Police. They prevented vandalism of campaign propaganda and the destruction of party offices, which were rampant in rural areas. Other, more enterprising ex-SLA members were under the payroll of both the National Citizens' Alliance and the Democratic Front to terrorize each other's candidates and activists. This intensified during election day. Overall, there were 641 reported incidents of election-related violence, 14 of which caused 30 deaths and the loss of 6 candidates.

Results

https://www.rdl.go.sk/constitution/e/etc/c01.html

Royal Rescript on the 1952 Constitution
I rejoice that the foundation for the construction of a new Aikoa has been laid according to the will of the Aikoan people, and hereby sanction and promulgate the amendments of the Royal Aikoan Constitution of 1876 effected following the consultation with the Governor-General of the Skandan Union and the decision of the Royal Diet.

Signed: HEJNRIK, Seal of the Grand King of Andrenne, Emperor of Selinesia

Countersigned:
Governor-General of the Skandan Union
Prime Minister and concurrently Minister of State for Finance
Minister of State for Defense and Foreign Affairs
Minister of State for Justice
Minister of State for Home Affairs
Minister of State for Health
Minister of State for Land Reform
Minister of Labor and Welfare
Minister of Communications and Transportation
Minister of Commerce and Industry
Minister of Education

The Constitution of Seinoku

We, the people of Aikoa, acting through our duly elected representatives in the Royal Diet, possessing a glorious tradition and history from time immemorial, follow the great spirit of independence as manifested in the establishment of the Kamaheo dynasty in 1642, determined we shall secure for our security, liberty, and happiness the fruits of national unity through justice, humanity and fraternity, of democratic institutions eliminating evil social customs of all kinds, of the guarantee of equal opportunities to every person and to provide for the fullest development of the capacity of each individual in all fields of political, economic, social and cultural life, of the obligation that each person discharge their duties and responsibilities, of the promotion of the welfare of the people at home and of the maintenance of international peace, do proclaim that sovereign power resides with the people and do firmly establish this Constitution.

Chapter I. The Grand King
Article 1. The Royal Throne shall be dynastic and succeeded in accordance with the Royal House Law passed by the Diet.
Article 2. The national flag is the Nisshoki and the national anthem is the Prayer to the Grand King.
(2) The people of Aikoa must respect the national flag and the national anthem.
Article 3. The Grand King shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts and does not have legal responsibility.
Article 4. The Grand King is the head of the state, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power.
Article 5. The Grand King shall sanction laws and orders them to be promulgated and executed.
Article 6. Before the Grand King ascends the throne, he shall take the following affirmation at a joint session of the two Houses: "I do solemnly affirm to the people that I shall faithfully observe the Constitution, promoting the welfare of the people and protecting the State."
Article 7. The Grand King may attend and address the Royal Diet or present his views thereto by written message.
Article 8. In a state of emergency, the Grand King shall have the power to make necessary financial disposition by the resolution of the State Council; provided, however, that the Grand King shall exercise such power only if there is no time to convene the Royal Diet.
(2) The Grand King shall have the power to issue ordinances having the effect of law when it is necessary to implement the dispositions set forth in the preceding paragraph.
Article 9. The dispositions or ordinances set forth in Article 8 shall be reported without delay to the Royal Diet for approval; if the House of Representatives has been dissolved, the approval by the Senate shall suffice.
(2) If the approval referred to in the preceding paragraph is not obtained, such dispositions or ordinances shall become ineffective thereafter.
Article 10. The Grand King may, by the resolution of the State Council, proclaim a state of emergency.
(2) However, the Grand King may refuse to proclaim a state of emergency, despite of the resolution of the State Council, if he deems it improper.
(3) When a state of emergency has been proclaimed, special measures may be taken in regard to the rights of people and the powers of administrative authorities or courts, in accordance with the law.
Article 11. The Grand King shall confirm the appointment and dismissal of government officials in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
Article 12. The Grand King shall exercise supreme command of the Royal Armed Forces in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
Article 13. The Grand King shall, by the resolution of the State Council, negotiate and ratify treaties, and accredit and receive diplomatic envoys.
Article 14. The Grand King shall, by the resolution of the State Council, award decorations and honors.
(2) The organization and formation of the Royal Armed Forces shall be determined by law.
Article 15. The respective Ministers of State shall give their advice to the Grand King, and be responsible for it.
(2) All laws, ordinances, and rescripts of whatever kind, that relate to the affairs of the State, require the countersignature of a Minister of State.
(3) The same shall equally apply to military matters.
Article 16. The Grand King shall, by the resolution of the State Council, grant pardons, commute sentences and restore civil rights in accordance with the law.
Article 17. The granting of a general pardon shall require the consent of the Royal Diet.
Article 18. If the Grand King is below the legal age of majority or in case of the absence of the Grand King or inability to exercise his power, the President of the Senate, the Lawspeaker of the House of Representatives, and the Prime Minister shall successively become Regent.

Chapter II. The Rights and Duties of Citizens
Article 19. The requisites for Aikoan citizenship shall be determined by law.
Article 20. All citizens shall be equal before the law.
Article 21. The people of Aikoa shall renounce all aggressive wars. All citizens shall perform the sacred duty of protecting the country in accordance with the law.
(2) The right of all citizens to keep and bear arms shall remain inviolate and not be infringed.
Article 22. All citizens shall have the duty to pay taxes levied in accordance with the law.
Article 23. All citizens shall enjoy personal liberty. No citizen shall be arrested, detained, searched, tried, punished, or subjected to compulsory labor except as provided by law.
(2) In any case of arrest, detention, or search, a warrant therefor shall be necessary; except that in any case of flagrante delicto or in any case where there is danger that the criminal may escape or that the evidence of the crime may be destroyed, the detecting authorities may request an ex post facto warrant with provisions prescribed by law.
(3) To all persons who may be arrested or detained, the right to have the prompt assistance of counsel and the right to request the court for a review of the legality of the arrest or detention, shall be guaranteed.
Article 24. The death penalty shall be abolished.
(2) Torture and cruel acts by public officials are absolutely prohibited.
Article 25. When a person is arrested or detained, the authorities concerned shall immediately notify his family or any other person designated by him.
(2) Furthermore, if he requests, the reasons for his detention shall be immediately and in open court in his presence and that of his defense.
Article 26. No citizen shall be prosecuted for a criminal offense unless such act shall have constituted a crime prescribed by law at the time it was committed, nor be placed in double jeopardy.
(2) All defendants in criminal cases shall have the right to be tried in public without delay unless there is proper cause for not doing so.
(3) The state shall compensate defendants who have been found innocent after trial for mental and material damages.
Article 27. All citizens shall be free from restrictions on domicile or the change thereof and from trespasses on and searches of private premises.
Article 28. The inviolability of citizen's homes and the secrecy of their correspondence shall be protected by law.
Article 29. Citizens shall enjoy all democratic freedoms of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, and complete freedom of labor disputes and of demonstrations.
(2) In order to guarantee this right, democratic political parties and mass organizations shall be provided with printing presses, paper, public buildings, means of communication, and other material conditions necessary for the exercise of this right.
(3) If the purposes or activities of a political party are contrary to the basic democratic rules of the Constitution, the State Council shall impeach it with the approval of the Grand King, and the Supreme Court shall decide on the dissolution of such political party.
Article 30. The citizen's freedom of scientific research and artistic creativity shall be guaranteed.
(2) In order to guarantee the citizen's freedom of belief and conscience, separation of religion and state, and of religion and school shall be ensured, and freedom of religious worship and propagation, as well as freedom of anti-religious propaganda, shall be guaranteed.
Article 31. Prisoners shall be treated humanely.
(2) Prisoners' wages and working hours shall be determined based on the working conditions of ordinary enterprises.
(3) Female prisoners shall be guaranteed nutrition based on their physiological characteristics, and sanitary treatment during pregnancy and childbirth.
Article 32. The right of property shall be guaranteed. Its contents and restrictions shall be defined by law.
(2) The exercise of property rights shall be restricted by law where necessary for the public welfare.
(3) The expropriation, use, or imposition of restrictions on private property for public purposes shall be accompanied by payment of just compensation in accordance with the law.
Article 33. All citizens shall be guaranteed the opportunity to receive an education and acquire skills. Primary and secondary school education shall be compulsory, and all expenses shall be borne by the state. Attendance at higher education shall be subject to a system of state funding under certain conditions.
(2) All educational institutions shall be administered under the supervision of the state.
(3) The organization of the educational system shall be determined by law.
Article 34. The right of workers to organize and the right to collective bargaining, collective agreements, and other collective actions shall be guaranteed. Employees shall have the right to participate in the management of enterprises.
(2) Workers employed in profit-earning private enterprises shall be entitled to share in the profits of such enterprises in accordance with the law.
Article 35. Citizens who are incapable of earning their living due to old age, infirmity, or such other reasons as may cause incapability to work, shall be protected by the State in accordance with the law.
(2) Citizens who are homeless have the right to be guaranteed housing by the state. This right shall be guaranteed by the state's mass construction of new housing, the opening of unused large buildings and mansions, and the protection of tenants.
Article 36. Citizens shall have the right to submit petitions or requests, oral or in writing, to all public offices concerning the interests of individuals or groups. No one shall be discriminated against for making such petitions or requests.
(2) The Government shall be obliged to examine such petitions.
Article 37. All citizens who have attained the age of twenty shall have the right to elect public officials in conformity with the law.
Article 38. Citizens, regardless of sex, shall have the right to be elected to public office.
Article 39. Public officials shall be the trustees of the sovereign people and shall at all times be responsible to the people. All citizens shall have the right to petition for the removal of public officials who have acted unlawfully.
(2) Citizens who have suffered damages by unlawful acts of public officials done in the exercise of their official duties shall have the right to request compensation from the Government or the public corporate bodies concerned; however, the civil or criminal liability of the public officials concerned shall not be exempted thereby.
Article 40. The rights and duties of the citizens not enumerated in this Constitution shall not be ignored.
(2) Laws imposing restrictions upon the liberties and rights of the citizens shall be enacted only in a state of emergency. However, such restrictions shall not infringe upon the substance of those liberties and rights, and no law shall be made for license or censorship of speech and the press, nor in respect of the right of assembly and association.

Chapter III. The Royal Diet
Article 41. The legislative power shall be vested in the Royal Diet.
(2) The Royal Diet shall consist of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Article 42. No member of either House may serve concurrently as a member of the other House.
(2) No member of the Royal Diet shall concurrently hold any other elected public office.
(3) The methods of electing the members of the House of Representatives and the total number thereof shall be determined by law.
(4) Members of the Senate shall, in accordance with the law, be composed of the orders of nobility, and of those persons, who have been nominated thereto by the Grand King.
Article 43. The term of members of the House of Representatives shall be four years. However, the term shall be terminated upon the dissolution of the House of Representatives.
(2) The term of senators shall only be for life.
Article 44. Bills may be introduced by any member of the Royal Diet or of the State Council.
(2) Finance bills shall be first presented to the House of Representatives.
(3) If no decision is made by the Senate on a matter required to be decided by the Royal Diet within 60 days after it has been sent, the matter shall be considered to be rejected by the Senate. The period shall be twenty days for finance bills.
Article 45. Once a bill passes both houses, it is taken to the Grand King who shall sanction it by affixing his signature and seal to the bill or law; otherwise, he shall veto it and return it with his objections to the Royal Diet.
(2) The vetoed bill may be reconsidered by the Royal Diet and, if approved by a two-thirds majority in both houses, it shall become a law.
(3) The Grand King shall act on every bill passed by the Royal Diet within thirty days after the date of receipt thereof; otherwise, it shall become a law.
Article 46. The Royal Diet shall consider and decide upon budgets.
Article 47. The Royal Diet shall have the power to consent to the ratification of treaties concerning international organizations, treaties pertaining to mutual aid, peace treaties, commercial treaties, treaties financially incumbent on the State or the people, or treaties related to legislative affairs.
(2) Duly ratified and published treaties and the generally recognized rules of international law shall have the same effect as that of the law of Aikoa.
(3) The necessary rights of aliens residing in the State of Aikoa shall be guaranteed by law.
Article 48. The Royal Diet shall, for the purpose of inspecting the State Council, have the power to compel the production of necessary documents and the appearance of the witnesses in person to testify or furnish opinions.
Article 49 Unless otherwise provided in the Constitution or in the rules of the Royal Diet the attendance of a majority of the members duly elected and seated and the votes of a majority of the members present shall be necessary for acts of each House.
(2) If the decisions of the two Houses on a matter required to be decided by the Royal Diet are not in accord with each other, the matter shall be referred to the House of Representatives for reconsideration; any one of the two decisions respectively made by each House, which has been again adopted by the House of Representatives with the attendance of one-half or more of the members duly elected and seated, and with concurrence of two-thirds or more of the members present, shall be the decision of the Royal Diet.
(3) Upon consideration of the budget, when the Senate makes a decision different from that of the House of Representatives, the budget shall be brought before the House of Representatives for reconsideration and its decision shall be the decision of the Royal Diet.
(4) The Lawspeaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate shall have the right to give a casting vote.
Article 50. The Prime Minister, Members of the State Council, and Representatives of the State Council shall be authorized to attend meetings of the Royal Diet, to state their opinions and answer questions and, by request of the Royal Diet, they shall attend any meeting of the Royal Diet and answer questions.
Article 51. The House of Representatives shall elect one Lawspeaker. The party holding the largest number of seats and the party holding the second largest number of seats shall each be entitled to designate one (1) Vice Lawspeaker from among the members of the House.
(2) The Senate shall elect one President and two Vice Presidents.
(3) The President of the Senate shall preside over joint sessions of both Houses.
Article 52. The Royal Diet shall be convened annually and shall be divided into two sessions, one in the dry season, and one in the wet season.
(2) There shall be a recess between the sessions not exceeding two months. The time of the recess period shall be determined by the Grand King.
Article 53. In case of extraordinary necessity, the leader of both Houses shall publicly notify the convening of a temporary session of the Royal Diet upon the request of either the Grand King, one-fourth or more of the Representatives duly elected and seated, or one-half or more of the Senators duly elected and seated.
Article 54. When the House of Representatives is dissolved, the Senate shall be closed at the same time. However, the Prime Minister may, in time of emergency, request the convocation of the Senate.
Article 55. The proceedings of the Royal Diet shall be open to the public. However, a closed session may be held by a resolution of either House.
Article 56. Each House shall investigate the qualifications of its members, establish rules of procedure, and decide on disciplinary matters concerning its members.
(2) The concurrence of two-thirds or more of the members of each House duly elected and seated shall be necessary for the expulsion of any member of the Royal Diet.
Article 57. In case the Supreme Court judges, judges, members of the Central Election Committee, the Auditor-General, political parties, and other public officials designated by law shall have violated in the exercise of their duties, provisions of this Constitution or other laws, the Royal Diet shall have power to resolve motions for their impeachment.
(2) A motion for impeachment shall be signed by not less than thirty members of the House of Representatives. The vote of a majority of the members of each House seated, duly elected or appointed, shall be necessary to institute impeachment.
Article 58. Any person against whom impeachment has been instituted shall be suspended from carrying out his duties.
(2) Any decree of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office, but the person convicted shall not thereby be exempted from civil or criminal liability.
Article 59. Members of the Royal Diet shall not be responsible to anyone outside for statements or votes made within the Diet.
Article 60. During sessions of the Royal Diet, no member of the Diet shall be arrested or detained without the consent of the House of which he is a member except in cases of flagrante delicto. In cases of the apprehension of a member before the opening of the session, such member shall be released during the session upon the request of the House of which he is a member.

Chapter IV. The State Council
Article 61. Executive power shall be vested in the State Council.
(2) The State Council shall be composed of the Prime Minister, Ministers of State, and other appointed members of the State Council.
(3) The State Council shall be collectively responsible to the House of Representatives.
Article 62. The Prime Minister shall be nominated by the Grand King and the nomination shall be approved by the House of Representatives. However, if the Grand King has failed to nominate a Prime Minister again within five days of the date of disapproval by the House of Representatives or when the House of Representatives has disapproved the two consecutive nominations, the Prime Minister shall be elected by the House of Representatives.
(2) The approval or election stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall require a majority vote of the members of the House of Representatives duly elected and seated.
(3) When the Grand King has nominated the Prime Minister, the House of Representatives shall vote on the nomination not earlier than twenty-four fours, nor later than forty-eight fours of the nomination. In case of an election of the Prime Minister to be held in accordance with the provision of paragraph 1, the election shall take place within five days of the circumstances arising which make this election necessary.
(4) The Grand King shall nominate the Prime Minister within five days of the first convocation of the House of Representatives after the general election of the Representatives.
(5) The Prime Minister shall appoint members of the State Council and the Grand King shall confirm the appointment.
(6) The Prime Minister and a majority of the members of the State Council shall be chosen from among members of the Royal Diet, except when the House of Representatives has been dissolved.
(7) No military person shall be appointed as a Member of the State Council unless they have previously resigned from active service.
Article 63. The meetings of the State Council shall be convened and presided over by the Prime Minister.
(2) The Prime Minister may, with the agreement of the State Council, issue an ordinance on matters within the scope of powers delegated to him by law and on matters necessary for the enforcement of the law.
(3) The Prime Minister shall represent the State Council. He may introduce its bills to the Royal Diet and direct and supervise each ministry.
(4)If the Prime Minister is prevented from exercising his powers for some reason, the member of the State Council selected in the order specified by law shall act on his behalf.
Article 64. If the House of Representatives passes a motion of censure on the State Council, the State Council shall resign en bloc, unless a notice has been given of the dissolution of the House of Representatives within ten days.
(2) The State Council shall consider it a vote of censure if the House of Representatives declines to give consent to the ratification of a treaty or makes no decision on the general budget for a new fiscal year within the date specified by law.
(3) A motion to censure the State Council shall require a majority vote of the members of the House of Representatives duly elected and seated.
(4) A vote shall be taken on a motion of censure within seventy-two hours, but not earlier than twenty-four hours, of its introduction. If no decision is made within that period, the motion of censure shall be deemed not to have been introduced. On a vacancy occurring in the office of the Prime Minister, or on the first convocation of the House of Representatives after a general election of the Representatives, the State Council shall resign en bloc.
(5) In the cases mentioned in paragraph 1 and in the preceding paragraph, the State Council shall continue to exercise its functions until a new Prime Minister is selected.
Article 65. The following matters shall be referred to the State Council for decision:

1. Fundamental plans and policies concerning state affairs;
2. Proposed treaties and other important matters pertaining to foreign policy;
3. Proposed amendments to the Constitution, legislative bills, and Royal Decrees;
4. Proposed budgets, closing of accounts, urgent financial dispositions, and the defrayment of the reserve fund;
5. Matters pertaining to requests for convening the Royal Diet for extraordinary sessions;
6. Proclamations and terminations of a state of siege;
7. Important military affairs;
8. Awarding of honors and granting of pardons, commutation, and restoration of civil rights;
9. Matters referring to the liaison between ministers and the determination of their jurisdiction;
10. Examination of petitions submitted or referred to the government;
11. Appointment and removal of the Prosecutor-General, the Chairman of the Board of Audit, the President of National Universities, Ambassadors and Ministers to foreign countries, the Chiefs of Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, other public officials designated by law; and the managers of important state-operated enterprises;
12. Adoption and execution of important policies of the various ministers;
13. Matters pertaining to the dissolution of the House of Representatives and to the general resignation of the State Council;
14. Impeachment for the dissolution of a political party;
15. And other matters presented by the Prime Minister or member of the State Council.

Article 66. The Ministers of State shall be appointed by the Prime Minister from among the members of the State Council, and may be dismissed by him.
Article 67. Each Minister may, ex officio or by special delegation of authority issue "Ministerial Orders" concerning matters within the scope of his powers and duties.
Article 68. The organization and functions of each ministry shall be determined by law.
(2) The law referred to in the preceding paragraph shall include provisions concerning the organization necessary for ensuring the impartiality of the police.

Chapter V. The Central Election Committee
Article 70. The Central Election Committee shall be set up to conduct fair elections.
(2) The Central Election Committee shall be composed of three members elected by the justices of the Supreme Court from among themselves and six members recommended by the political parties, and the Chairman of the Committee shall be elected by the members who are Justices from among themselves.
(3) The organization and powers of the Central Election Committee and other necessary provisions relating thereto shall be determined by Law.

Chapter VI. The Courts
Article 71. The judicial power shall be vested in courts composed of judges.
(2) The organization of the Supreme Court, the highest court of the State, and of the lower courts shall be determined by law.
(3) The qualification for judges shall be determined by law.
Article 72. The Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court shall be elected by an Electoral College composed of persons qualified as judges and shall be confirmed by the Grand King.
(2) All matters relating to the number of members, organization, and election of the Electoral College mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be determined by law.
(3) Judges other than those prescribed in paragraph 1 shall, on nomination by the Judicial Council, be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Article 73. The tenure of the judges shall be ten years and the judges may be reappointed in accordance with the law.
Article 74. Judges shall not be dismissed, suspended from office, or have their salaries reduced except by impeachment or pursuant to criminal or disciplinary punishment.
Article 75. No Judge shall be affiliated with any political party or participate in politics.
Article 76. The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction in any of the following matters:

1. The constitutionality of the law;
2. Final interpretation of the Constitution;
3. Final review of all cases in Aikoa;
4. Legal consistency of orders, regulations, and acts;
5. Disputes as to the jurisdiction of public authorities;
6. Dissolution of a political party;
7. Impeachment trials;
8. Litigation on the election of the Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court.

Article 77. The judges of the courts shall judge independently and in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
Article 78. A decision holding unconstitutionality and a judgment of impeachment shall require a two-thirds majority vote of the Supreme Court.
Article 79. The Supreme Court shall have the power to establish the internal regulations of the courts and rules pertaining to routine matters thereof.
Article 80. Trials and the pronouncement of judgments shall be open to the public; however, a trial may be closed to the public by an order of the court when it finds that the holding of a public trial would be likely to disturb the public peace and order or be dangerous to public morals.
Article 81. Courts-martial having jurisdiction over military offenses may be established. However, appeals from kinds of judgments designated by law shall be within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
(2) The organization and powers of courts-martial and qualification for members thereof shall be determined by law.

Chapter VII. National Crisis
Article 82. Legislation concerning important matters pertaining to a national crisis that might limit the sovereignty of the people of Aikoa or cause a change in its territory shall, if approved by the Royal Diet, be referred to a national referendum for confirmation. Such confirmation shall require the valid affirmative votes of two-thirds or more of the voters in a referendum participated in by two-thirds or more of the voters eligible to vote for the election of members of the House of Representatives.
Article 83. Such national referendum shall be initiated by the petition, within one month after passage of such legislation, of five hundred thousand or more registered voters.
Article 84. When confirmation is not obtained by such a national referendum, the decision of the Royal Diet in question shall become retroactively null and void.
Article 85. Rules of procedure concerning such national referendum shall be decided by law.

Chapter VIII. Economy
Article 86. The principle of the economic order of Aikoa shall be to attain social justice by fulfilling the basic requirements of all citizens and to encourage the development of a balanced national economy. The economic freedom of each individual shall be guaranteed within these limits.
Article 87. License to exploit, develop, or utilize mines and other important underground resources, marine resources, water power, and all other economically available natural powers may be granted for limited periods in accordance with the law.
Article 88. Farmland shall be distributed to farmers. The method of distribution, the extent of possession, and the contents and restrictions of ownership shall be determined by law.
Article 89. Foreign trade shall be controlled by the Government in accordance with the law.

Chapter IX. Finance
Article 90. The items and rates of all taxes shall be determined by law.
Article 91. The State Council at the beginning of each regular session shall submit to the Royal Diet for its decision a budget covering all revenues and expenditures for the fiscal year.
(2) In case any disbursement is necessary to cover a period of more than one year, such disbursement shall be deemed a continual fund covering a fixed term and shall be so submitted to the Royal Diet for its decision.
(3) The Royal Diet shall neither increase the sum of any item of expenditure nor establish new items of expenditure without the consent of the State Council.
Article 92. Any plan to raise funds by national loans or any conclusion of a contract creating liability for debt incumbent upon the State or unprovided for in the budget shall be submitted to the Royal Diet for its decision.
Article 93. The decision of a reserve fund for unforeseen expenditures unprovided for in or in excess of the budget shall be decided in advance by the Royal Diet.
(2) Disbursement from the reserve fund shall be confirmed by the Royal Diet at the session subsequent thereto.
Article 94. The Royal Diet shall enact a finance bill annually before the beginning of the fiscal year.
Article 95. If, however, the Royal Diet fails to enact this bill within the period specified in the preceding paragraph, the State Council may, in conformity with the finance bill for the previous fiscal year, disburse sums for any of the following purposes within the limit of the revenue, until the enactment of the finance bill by the Royal Diet:

1. Basic expenditure on the emoluments of public officials and for the administration;
2. Maintenance costs for the agencies and institutions established by law and the expenditure provided by law;
3. Expenditures for the continuing projects approved in the budget for the previous fiscal year.

Article 96. If a finance bill has not been passed because a general election of the members of the House of Representatives has taken place, the State Council shall present a new finance bill to the Royal Diet. The Royal Diet shall consider and decide upon the bill within two months of the first sitting of the House of Representatives. In such a case, the period specified in Article 44 shall be ten days.
Article 97. The accounts of revenue and disbursement of the State shall be investigated annually by the Board of Audit.
(2) The State Council shall submit to the Royal Diet, during its session in the following year, a statement of accounts together with the auditing report of the Board of Audit.
(3) The organization and functions of the Board of Audit shall be determined by law.

Chapter X: Local Autonomy
Chapter 98. Municipal divisions shall, within the framework of laws and orders, perform their administration and such additional acts as are delegated to them by the State and shall manage their property within the same framework.
(2) Municipal divisions may establish self-governing regulations within the framework of laws and orders.
Chapter 99. The organization and operation of municipal divisions shall be determined by law.
(2) The method of electing the heads of municipal divisions shall be determined by law, provided that mayors and heads of municipal divisions shall be elected by the direct suffrage of the inhabitants.
(3) There shall be a council set up in each municipal division.
(4) The organization and authority of the local councils and the method of election of their members shall be determined by law.

Chapter XI: Amendments to the Constitution
Chapter 100. A motion to amend the Constitution shall be introduced either by the Grand King, by one-third or more of the members of either the House of Representatives or the Senate duly elected and seated, or by the concurrence of 500,000 or more of the eligible voters for the election of Representatives.
(2) Proposed amendments to the Constitution shall be announced by the Grand King to the public.
(3) The period for an announcement as prescribed in the foregoing paragraph shall be not less than thirty days.
(4) A decision on a proposed amendment to the Constitution shall require the concurrence of two-thirds or more of the members of each House duly elected and seated.
(5) When an amendment to the Constitution has been adopted, the Grand King shall promulgate it immediately. However, in case a decision on a proposed amendment to the Constitution is rejected by popular vote, as provided in Chapter VII, the Grand King shall promulgate such rejection as soon as the result of such vote is known and announce the decision has become retroactively null and void.
(6) The provisions of Articles 1, 4, 5, and Chapter VII shall not be changed or abolished.

"Welcome to Hokkyo Castle" official visitor brochure by the Royal Household Ministry

Hokkyo Castle


Stone Bridge of the Main Gate

北京城 has served as the main residence of the Grand King of Seinoku since 1952. It is a walled complex of parks and palaces in the center of Hokkyo, the capital of Seinoku. It serves the functions of the Seinokan royal family and government. The current resident, Akashihito III, is the 4th monarch to permanently live in the castle. When the fortress was first built in 1701, it followed the natural features of the hilly area, improving and adding to the existing topography.

The historical fortress formerly served as the western royal residence whenever the ko'i moved their court to Seinoku, a long time ago when Skanda was united from 1642 to 1892. Most monarchs lived in Skanda proper and left Seinoku to the rule of military governors. In the 1892 Palace Coup, a noble rebellion led to the annexation of Skanda by the Kingdom of Andrenne. The local Andrennian agents were briefly thwarted by the forces of the loyalist military governor before the Andrennian forces stormed Hokkyo Castle. Cannon fire destroyed the Outer Court. During Andrennian rule, much of the fortress was demolished. It was repurposed as the headquarters of the new government led by the lieutenant governor of the Scanda Occidentalis (West Skanda) protectorate, part of the Andrennian colony of the Skandan Union. Parts of the medieval castle, especially the towers, moats, and walls, have been preserved. It has seen numerous battles with Medieval Anmativeda, Syrixia, and Andrenne.

1. The Inner Court

Palace of Sanctuaries

The Inner Court is the main venue for official state events and royal rituals. It is where the Palace of Sanctuaries is located. The palace hosts the enthronement ceremony and royal marriages. Originally, it featured the bedchambers of the Skandan ko'i and his family. Deep in the heart of the castle fortress, the original royal home was designed to be secluded and far away from the city populace. Per feudal tradition, it was taboo for Skandan monarchs to appear in public. Most Skandan royal residences were located outside cities. Historian Dr. Anton Hila said commoners were perceived as "dirty" and "impure."

The palace was partially rebuilt after the 1892 Palace Coup during renovations in 1895. State dinners and the awarding of honors are held in a modern Gotic-style pavilion of the palace.

2. The Outer Court


The Kyuden (Governor's Palace)


The Royal Diet Building

The Outer Court houses the Grand King of Seinoku, the Royal Diet, and the main offices of the Prime Minister and other ministries and agencies. The Grand King and his family live in the Kyuden, commonly known as the Governor's Palace. It was originally built by the Andrennian to serve as the official residence of the Andrennian grand king and the protectorate lieutenant governors. Nearby, the Royal Diet Building is the headquarters of the Royal Diet and the Cabinet of Seinoku. A prime minister's residence was originally built in the Outer Court, but it was demolished in 1999. The following year, Grand King Akashihito III moved the prime minister's official residence to a grace-and-favor flat at Togu Palace.