Staten-Generaal
| Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss |
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| This article is part of the series: Government and politics of Knootoss |
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This article deals with Staten-Generaal as it relates to NationStates. For more general information, see the Wikipedia article on this subject. The States-General (Dutch: Staten-Generaal) is the parliament of Knootoss. It is a unicameral parliament with 200 members, elected by direct proportional representation.
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Election
Elections are called whenever the Grand Pensionary dissolves parliament, either as the result of a breakdown of government or when the term of the sitting parliament expires after five years. Elections for parliament and elections for the Prime Minister of Knootoss are always held simultaneously.
Political parties wanting to contest an election part must supply a list of candidates. Each candidate list is numbered, with the person in the first position known as the "list puller" (Dutch: lijsttrekker). The lijsttrekker is usually appointed by the party to lead its election campaign. Anyone who is eligible to vote also has the right to establish a political party and to be a candidate. Two or more parties can agree to combine their separate lists into a so-called list combination (Dutch: lijstencombinatie). This increases the chance of winning a remainder seat. The candidate lists are placed in the hands of the voters at least 14 days before the election.
Knootoss has universal suffrage, and any citizen over the age of sixteen who has not been denied the vote as part of a court order, on account of severe crimes or insanity, may participate in elections. A single vote can be placed on any one candidate. Many voters select one of the lijsttrekkers, but alternatively a preference vote may be made for a candidate lower down the list. Turnout usually hovers between 60% and 90% of eligible voters.
Once the election results are known, the seats are allocated to the parties. The number of valid national votes cast is divided by 200, the number of seats available, to give a threshold for each seat. Each party's number of votes is divided by this threshold to give an initial number of seats. Any party that received fewer votes than the threshold fails to gain representation. Thus the threshold is always at 0.5% of the total number of valid national votes. Remainder seats are allocated using the D'Hondt method of largest averages. List combinations compete for the remainder seats as one list of the combined size of all parties in the combination, thus having more chance to gain remainder seats.
Candidates usually become eligible for seats in the order that they appear on the party's list. (Hence, before the elections, the candidates near the top may be described as in an electable position, depending on the number of seats that the party is likely to obtain.) However, any candidate receiving more than one quarter of the threshold on personal preference votes is considered elected in their own right, leapfrogging candidates higher on the list. If a candidate cannot take up the position in parliament (e.g., if they become a minister, decide not to enter parliament, or later resign) then the next candidate on the list takes their place.
Powers
The Staten-Generaal discusses proposed legislation and reviews the actions of the government. The government and the parliament both have the right to propose legislation. The Staten-Generaal discusses it and, if a law is adopted by a majority of 101 votes, sends it on to Grand Pensionary for his signature.
Review of the government takes the form of formal interrogations, which may result in motions urging the cabinet to take, or refrain from, certain actions. While such motions are, in principle, non-binding, parliament has powers that it can use to enforce its will. It has the ability to vote down legislative proposals of the government as well as the ability to vote down the budget, which would leave the government powerless. Such a vote, particularly after a Prime Minister or a Minister has cautioned parliament that a rejection of the proposal on the table would be unacceptable, is informally referred to as a motion of no confidence. Such a motion inevitably precipitates a political crisis that may result in the dissolution of parliament and new elections for both the Staten-Generaal and the Prime Minister.
A majority of the parliament may also call for a parliamentary inquiry, which is then carried out by a Committee of Inquiry. By law, anyone in Knootoss is obligated to cooperate to the best of their ability with the committee of inquiry. Witnesses can be heard under oath, and witnesses are compelled to answer all questions to the best of their ability. Minor powers of parliament include a responsibility for the first round of selection for judges to the Supreme Court.
Political parties
| Knootian political parties represented in the Staten-Generaal | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left | |
Right | |||||||||||||
| AP |
SP |
KSDP |
PP |
KGP |
CvvD |
KvPV |
SLP |
KVP |
CD |
CP |
KEP |
VP |
NHS |
N-SA |
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| AP | SP | KSDP | PP | Knootiaanse Groene Partij | CvvD | KvPV | Sociaal-Liberale Partij | Katholieke Volkspartij | C-DA DCA |
Conservatieve Partij | KEP | Vrijheidspartij | NHS | N-SA | |
| | |||||||||||||||
| Communism | Socialism | Progressivism | Liberalism | Christian Democracy | Conservatism | Nationalism | Fascism | ||||||||
Because the multi-party system of Knootoss has a low, one seat threshold, there are numerous political parties with democratic participation. As a result, any one party has little chance of gaining power alone, and parties have to cooperate in order to form a coalition government.
Parliament building
The meeting rooms of the Staten-Generaal are located at the Binnenhof (Inner Court) in the Hague.
- Party Quarters of the SLP (under renovation)
- Entrance Plein 2
- Former Ministery of the Colonies (houses the party quarters of the SLP and minor parties, as well as misc. administrative departments.)
- Binnenhof
- Ridderzaal
- Kitchen
- Restaurant
- Parliamentary Library
- Former Ministry of Justice
- Ex-Hotel Central
- Press Centre Nieuwspoort
- Entrance Lange Poten 4
- Television
- Radio
- "The Corridors" (Informal meeting place for politicians inbetween debates)
- Plenary meeting room
- Public tribune
- Spui gate
- Promenade
- Escalator from BG to 2
- Kappeyne van de Coppello lounge
- Schaper lounge
- Vondeling lounge
- Vogels lounge
- RCPK party quarters
- Statenpassage
- Press tower.
History
Main article: History of Knootoss
Historically the convocation of the Staten-Generaal consisted of delegates from the provincial estates, and dated from about the middle of the 15th century. In the United Provinces of Knootoss it was claimed by some to be carrying sovereignty over Knootoss, while others contended this was in the hands of the Stadtholders. Under the Stewards, it was considered to be a mere advisory body that was gradually given more powers through succesive constitutions and democratic reforms. Twice in the history of the United Provinces was the power of the Staten-Generaal absolute: during the First Stadtholderless Era (1650-1672) at the zenith of Knootian power and during the Second Stadtholderless Era (1702-1747) when the Republic was in decline. With the demise of the Stewards it was reformed again and given full democratic powers.
