Politics of Billopesha
| Billopesha |
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The politics of Billopesha takes place in a framework of a constitutional diarchy, in which the two Diarchs and the Chancellor share the powers of head of state. Executive power is split between the Crown, the Cabinet and the Civil Service. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Silvereye, the Senate and the National Assembly. The judiciary is independent of the executive and legislature but is superceeded by the Constitutional Council.
The political system of Billopesha has many notable features that differ from more traditional models including having multiple political parties compete for having their own alternative of a bill passed by a powerful, non-partisan and partially demarchic legislative upper house, a legislative head with presidential powers and no defined head of government.
The present form of government was established on 14th October 2007, when Grand Lord Richard VI and Grand Lady Linya were reinstated as diarchs after the end of the Billopeshian Revolution. Previously there was a short-lived republic.
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Executive
The Crown
- Main article: The Crown (Billopesha)
The heads of state, the nominal sources of executive power, are the diarchs, currently Grand Lord Richard VI and his wife Grand Lady Linya. The diarchs hold national sovereignty, being mostly restricted by the laws of the Silvereye.
The diarchs possess many powers compared to most constitutional monarchies and the royal family has traditionally been involved in politics. Their primary roles are as heads of the Crown, dealing with all fundamental state issues of land, resources, natural environment and the ownership thereof. Together, they theoretically own all land and natural geographical features as well as any artifical structure over 100 years old. All land is rented out by contract to the people and government sections. The diarchs also appoint the Minister of Luck, who must then by approved by the Silvereye.
Cabinet
- Main article: Cabinet of Billopesha
The Cabinet is the national executive body of Billopesha, essentially devided into two sections; one with the heads of government departments and the other with the leaders of the four largest political parties. The department heads are elected by the Senate from the Silvereye and can be from any political party in the Assembly or an independent.
Quadriad
The Quadriad is a name given to the four largest political parties in Billopesha determined by the overall number of seats in the National Assembly. The group's role lies between the executive and the legislature with the parties are directly involved in producing bills to be put foward to the Silvereye. The leading party has the most influence and proposes the first bill - the other three parties then respond by proposing alternatives. The four leaders sit in the Cabinet, taking advise from and discussing proposals with the heads of each department. The leader of the largest party could be considered the "prime minister" but at the very least this is contested with other ministers like the finance minister.
Legislature
- Main article: Silvereye
The Parliament is called the Silvereye and consists of a 308-member upper house, the Senate, and a 308-member lower house, the National Assembly consisting of all members of the regional assemblies. The head is the Chancellor. Bills originate in the National Assembly but can be passed independently by either house. The members sit at the Scaena Amplitudo in Billopec.
Elections
Elections in Billopesha are frequent and involve a diverse range of voting systems that are all managed and organised by the Election Committee.
The table below shows the different elections that take place for particular positions including how the candidates are selected and by who. It then shows the voting system used to decide the title holder and who elects them.
| Elected Position | Candidate Selection | Selector | Voting system | Electorate | Length of Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lords | Specific qualifications | Self-application | sortition* | None (alloting done by Constitutional Council) | 10 years |
| Chancellor | Multi-candidate endorsements | Senate | Two-round system | Citizens | 4 years |
| Senators | Multi-candidate endorsements | Regional Academies | Instant-runoff vote (75%) sortition* (25%) | Citizens, (alloting done by Constitutional Council) | 6 yrs (elected), 1 yr |
| Assembly members | Various | Political parties | Single transferable vote | Citizens | 4 years |
| Regional Prime Ministers | Various | Political parties | Plurality vote | Regional Assembly members | 4 years |
| Secretaries of State | Multi-candidate endorsements | Silvereye members | Instant-runoff vote | Senate | 4 years |
| *not elected but randomly selected | |||||
Political parties
On a national level, political parties are disallowed from forming in the Senate. This was enacted to discourage voting along party lines and encourage an active, not passive, legislature. In spite of that, the "Quadraid" parties are active as individual groups in proposing legislation and ultimately determine policy. Parties are mostly active on a sub-national level, particularly in the regional assemblies and local councils.
After the October 2011 Assembly elections, the status of the parties and their AMs are as follows.
| Name | Founded | Ideology | Leader | SMs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Acumist Party | 1997 | radical centrism | Aaron Thorne | 89 | |
| A radical party revolving around the popular Acumist philosophy. The government emphasises the significance of education and a reform of the social welfare system and migration. The party is supported by intellectuals who say the party shows a great sense of wisdom and consciousness and is surprisingly endorsed by both theists and atheists. The party was a significant contributer to the Silvereye Constitution. Opponents claim many find the parties policies hard to grasp and too radical to be established effectively. | |||||
| People's Party | 1815 (original) 1970 (modern) |
national conservatism, Christian democracy | Harry Trotter | 58 | |
| Previously named the People's Imperial Party and derived from the Imperialist movement. The party is a main rival to the Central Acumist Party and disagrees with their very large government. The party believes in the Catholic religion being firmly re-established as a national identity with 'infidel' organisations outlawed. The party focuses on industry, healthcare and social welfare. | |||||
| Social Democratic Party | 1925 | social democracy, unionism | Matthew Powell | 38 | |
| Gains significant support from Trade Unions. | |||||
| Justice Party | 2004 | liberalism | Alan Robinson | 24 | |
| Conservative Party | 1964 | liberal conservatism | Mark Davis | 9 | |
| Green Party | 1982 | green politics | Mary Buckler | 7 | |
| Communist Party | 1936 | communism | Diana Fey | 5 | |
| Catholic Community Party | 1889 | theocratic, Christian democratic | Steven Kingsbury | 0 | |
History
Legislative elections since 1997
The table below shows the Regional Prime Minister (PM) and the Majority Party Leader (MPL) in the Silvereye after each regional election including any changes in either role after any other event (i.e. defections or bi-elections) in italics. MPLs hold important titles and these are also stated. First-time holders of the title indicated are in bold.
Colour key
(for political parties)
People's
United Labour
Live
Justice
Central Acumist
(Democratic) Imperialist
| Election by Year |
Region | Regional PM after election | Silvereye MPL after election | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Bironta | PE | Robert Blue | PE | Jack Lamont | |
| Frissi | PE | Rachel Pitts | ||||
| 1999 | Billopec | PE | David Stenton | PE | Jack Lamont | |
| Efrene | UL | Matthew Horfield | ||||
| 2001 | Bironta | PE | Robert Blue | PE | Jack Lamont | |
| Frissi | PE | Rachel Pitts | ||||
| 2003 | Billopec | PE | David Stenton | PE | Jack Lamont | |
| Efrene | UL | Matthew Horfield | ||||
| 2005 | Bironta | LI | Alastair Mackenzie | PE | Jack Lamont | Chancellor/Int. President |
| 2005 | Bironta | JU | Jean-Pierre Bouchard | CA | Aaron Thorne | President |
| Frissi | CA | Jonathan Roberts | ||||
| Billopec | CA | Kate Redland | ||||
| 2006 | Efrene | IM | Harry Trotter | CA | Aaron Thorne | |
| 2007 | Bironta | JU | Jean-Pierre Bouchard | CA | Aaron Thorne | Majority party leader |
| Frissi | CA | Jonathan Roberts | ||||
| Billopec | CA | Kate Redland | ||||
| Efrene | IM | Harry Trotter | ||||
| 2009 | Bironta | CA | Sam Hipkin | CA | Aaron Thorne | |
| Frissi | CA | Jonathan Roberts | ||||
| 2011 | Billopec | CA | Kate Redland | CA | Aaron Thorne | |
| Efrene | UL | Ed Smith | ||||
Local government
In Billopesha, Local government is very important in trying to present the views of the constituency in the administration. Every month, a 'Communal Assembly' is held at the 'Local Political Hall' where any member of the public over the age of 13 can attend and debate issues that they believe need to be addressed or existing ones they are concerned about. In the meeting, when someone expresses a view, the two senators resolve the issue on behalf of the government. If they are unable to resolve the issue, a immediate vote is done by the attendees on whether they agree with the issue put forward. The process is made easy by using technology. If the majority agree, then that issue is put on the 'Communal Queries List' and this list is then put in the long queue of all the CQLs of Billopesha with the issue most disagreed on put at the top.
At a senatorial meeting, the senators of each local government present their people's issues to the Billopeshian Cabinet and the Silvereye in the list order. If the issue involves a constitutional law, then the query is resolved by the Silvereye Grand Council of Principal Order (GCPO). If the issue involves a Municipal Law, then the query is resolved by the Billopeshian Cabinet. Once the issue is resolved, then the other foreign branches have their say on the issue. Any other issues that might result from the discussion of a particular issue will go through the same process. If all the issues are resolved, then the pairs of senators return to their constituency to give the results in the next Communal Assembly. If more issues are then put forward, then the process starts again.
On the other hand, there is the slim possibility that someone’s expressed opinion might be considered correct both by the Billopeshian Cabinet and the GCPO. In this case, a law is created which resolves the issue which is presented and then voted on by the Members of the Silvereye. If the majority agree on the law, then it is passed. An award is given to the person who originally put forward the issue know as the Citizen Award for Outstanding Political Innovation. If one person gets four of these awards, then they can be appointed a senator. This form of law-making is called a 'Full Citizen Influence Law' (FCIL). If in one presidential term, 20 of these laws are passed, then a vote of no confidence can be instigated.
See Also
| Constitutional Kingdom of Billopesha | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category: | Billopesha | ||
| History: | List of heads of state | List of heads of government | Democratic Republic | Civil Wars | ||
| Politics: | Monarchy | House of Billopec | House of Billopeshus | Constitutional Council | Chancellor | Senate | People's Assembly | Elections | Central Acumist Party | ||
| Cities: | Billopec | Masilla | Rosebury | ||
| Individuals: | Alexander IX | Timothy Darwin | George IV | Prince Ivan | Linya | Harry Redway | Richard VI | Aaron Thorne | ||
| Culture: | Acumism | On Billopeshian Ground | ||
| Billopesha on NationStates |
