Senate of Eflad (Pacifica)
Senate of Eflad Efladischer Sænat | |
|---|---|
| 47th Sænat | |
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| History | |
| Established | 23 August 1840 |
| Preceded by | Parliament of the Kingdom of Eflad |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
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Political groups | Government (215)
Opposition (214) |
| Elections | |
| Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) | |
Last election | 02 April 2022 |
Next election | On or before 12 April 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Sænatorium Altstadt, Münnen, Eflad | |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Eflad |
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The Sænat ("Senate") is the Efladian federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the Efladian people. The Sænat was established by Title III of the Constitution for the Republic of Eflad (Efladian Alman: Verfassung) in 1840 as one of the legislative bodies of Eflad and is therefore the historical successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Eflad.
The members of the Sænat are representatives of the Efladian people as a whole, are not bound by any orders or instructions and are only accountable to their electorate. The minimum legal number of members of the Sænat (Efladian Alman: Mitglied des Senats) is 370; however, due to the system of overhang and leveling seats the current 47th Sænat has a total of 428 members.
The Sænat is elected every four years by Efladian citizens aged 16 or over. Elections use a mixed-member proportional representation system which combines first-past-the-post elected seats with a proportional party list to ensure its composition mirrors the national popular vote. An early election is only possible in the cases of a prime minister not being elected in the course of 7 days after being nominated by the President (Art. 52), or if the Sænat fails to confrm a motion of confidence of the prime minister (Art. 58).
The Sænat has several functions. It is the chief legislative body on the federal level. The individual states (Staat) of Eflad participate in legislative process through the Föderaler Konzil, a separate assembly. The Sænat also elects and oversees the prime minister, Eflad's head of government, and sets the government budget.
Since 1840, it has met in the Sænatorium building in Münnen. The Sænat also operates in multiple new government buildings in Selpe and has its own police force (the Sænatpolizei). The current President of the Sænat since 2022 is Jura Koef of the RE! The 47th Sænat has four vice leaders.
History
On August 23, 1840, with the conclusion of the Efladian Revolution, the Sænat was created as the lower chamber. It precedes the constitution by four months owing to internal strife that delayed the implementation of the already drafted constitution. Its first meeting place was a church in Münnen, until in 1878 the current Sænatorium was built were the Sænat has met ever since.
Role
Together with the Federal Council of Eflad it forms the legislative branch of the Efladian political system.
The Sænat views the legislative role as its most important duty, focusing much of its efforts on analysing and modifying the government's legislative programme even though the executive branch usually initiates the majority of legislation. A significant part of this process is played by the committees (see below). Plenary sessions give members a venue for open discussion of the legislative matters that are before them, although they often draw a large audience only when substantial legislation is being debated.
The only federal representatives who are elected by the people are the senators, who additionally elect the Prime Minister and oversee the executive branch on matters of both fundamental policies and routine administration. Binding legislation, debates over public policy in public, inquiries, and direct questioning of the prime minister or cabinet ministers can all be used to curb executive power. For instance, the Sænat may have a question session (Fragesitzung), during which a government official answers to a previously put in written inquiry by a member. During the question period, participants may pose relevant questions.
The Sænat has the unique ability to dissolve itself at any time by a two-thirds majority (Article 32 of the Constitution). Should it come to a dissolution, a snap election is to be held.
The inquiries might be about anything, from a significant policy to a problem facing a particular constituent. Over the past seventy years or so, the use of the question session has increased more than ever, with more than 20,000 questions being asked during the 2015-19 term. The opposition parties formally use their legislative authority to review the activities of the administration.
The Petition Committee also provides constituent services. Over 36,000 citizen complaints were received by the Petition Committee in 2013, and more than half of them were settled by negotiations. A Sænat version of e-petitioner was created in 2005 as a test of the viability of online petitions. On the basis of a review after the system's official debut on September 1, 2007, the Sænat switched to an updated system in 2012.
Electoral Form
Eflad uses the mixed-member proportional representation system, a system of proportional representation combined with elements of first-past-the-post voting. The Sænat has 370 nominal members, elected for a four-year term; these seats are distributed between the sixteen Efladian states in proportion to the states' population eligible to vote.
Every elector has two votes: a constituency vote (first vote) and a party list vote (second vote). Based solely on the first votes, 185 members are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting. The second votes are used to produce a proportional number of seats for parties, first in the states, and then on the federal level. If a party wins fewer constituency seats in a state than its second votes would entitle it to, it receives additional seats from the relevant state list. Parties can file lists in every single state under certain conditions – for example, a fixed number of supporting signatures. Parties can receive second votes only in those states in which they have filed a state list.
If a party, by winning single-member constituencies in one state, receives more seats than it would be entitled to according to its second vote share in that state (so-called overhang seats), the other parties receive compensation seats. Owing to this provision, the Sænat usually has more than 370 members. The 47th and current Sænat, for example, has 428 seats: 370 regular seats and 59 overhang and compensation seats. Overhang seats are calculated at the state level, so many more seats are added to balance this out among the different states, adding more seats than would be needed to compensate for overhang at the national level in order to avoid negative vote weight.
To qualify for seats based on the party-list vote share, a party must either win three single-member constituencies via first votes (basic mandate clause) or exceed a threshold of 5% of the second votes nationwide. If a party only wins one or two single-member constituencies and fails to get at least 5% of the second votes, it keeps the single-member seat(s), but other parties that accomplish at least one of the two threshold conditions receive compensation seats. In the most recent example of this, during the 1999 election, the LfE won only 4.3% of the second votes nationwide, but won two constituencies in the state of Sweori. The same applies if an independent candidate wins a single-member constituency, which has not happened since the 1919 election.
If a voter cast a first vote for a successful independent candidate or a successful candidate whose party failed to qualify for proportional representation, their second vote does not count toward proportional representation. However, it does count toward whether the elected party exceeds the 5% threshold.
Parties representing recognized national minorities (currently Besernians and Weissersteiners) are exempt from both the 5% threshold and the basic mandate clause, but normally only run in state elections.
Organization
Parliamentary groups
The most important organisational structures within the Sænat are parliamentary groups (Fraktionen; sing. Fraktion). A parliamentary group must consist of at least 5% of all members of parliament. Members of parliament from different parties may only join in a group if those parties did not run against each other in any Efladian state during the election. Normally, all parties that surpassed the 5%-threshold build a parliamentary group. The size of a party's Fraktion determines the extent of its representation on committees, the time slots allotted for speaking, the number of committee chairs it can hold, and its representation in executive bodies of the Sænat. The Fraktionen, not the members, receive the bulk of government funding for legislative and administrative activities.
The leadership of each Fraktion consists of a parliamentary chairman, several deputy leaders, and an executive committee. The leadership's major responsibilities are to represent the Fraktion, enforce party discipline and orchestrate the party's parliamentary activities. The members of each Fraktion are distributed among working groups focused on specific policy-related topics such as social policy, economics, and foreign policy. The Fraktion meets every Wednesday - often called Fraktionstag (Fraktionday) - in the weeks in which the Sænat is in session to consider legislation before the Sænat and formulate the party's position on it.
Parties that do not hold 5% of the Sænat-seats may be granted the status of a Gruppe (literally "group", but a different status from Fraktion) in the Sænat; this is decided case by case, as the rules of procedure do not state a fixed number of seats for this. Most recently, this applied to the Liberals for Eflad (LfE) from 1995 to 1999. This status entails some privileges which are in general less than those of a Fraktion.
Executive groups
The Sænat's executive bodies include the Council of Setters and the Presidium. The council consists of the Sænat leadership, together with the most senior representatives of each Fraktion, with the number of these representatives tied to the strength of the Parliamentary groups in the chamber. The council is the coordination hub, determining the daily legislative agenda and assigning committee chairpersons based on Parliamentary group representation. The council also serves as an important forum for interparty negotiations on specific legislation and procedural issues. The Presidium is responsible for the routine administration of the Sænat, including its clerical and research activities. It consists of the chamber's president (usually elected from the largest Fraktion) and vice presidents (one from each Fraktion).
Principle of discontinuation
The Sænat is subject to the concept of discontinuance, as is the case with certain other parliaments, which means that a freshly elected Sænat is legally considered as a body and entity entirely different from the preceding. This has the effect of rendering invalid by non-decision any motion, application, or action filed to the previous Sænat, such as a law recommended to the Sænat by the Federal Government. In order to support the motion, the government must thus reintroduce any bills that have not been agreed upon by the start of the new election term. This process effectively delays the bill's passage. Additionally, each newly elected Saenat will need to decide on the rules of order (Geschäftsordnung) from scratch. This is done by a formal resolution to adopt the previous Sænat's regulations by reference.
Only after a freshly elected Sænat has actually convened to establish itself—which must happen within 31 days of its election—is any Sænat (even after a snap election) regarded to be dissolved. Thus, even after the election of a new Sænat that has not assembled to establish itself, it may happen (and has done) that the old Sænat comes together and takes decisions.
Logo
The logo of the Senate changes every time there is a change in the number of factions. Usually this happens after elections. The latest logo change was on April 12th as the new Social Democratic faction and the Faction of the Democratic Union were established.
Trivia
- Up until 1988, to raise a point of order, members had to hold a feather, indicating that they were not partaking in the debate.
- Since the lectern was not movable until 1972, a drawer staircase was installed for smaller sænators.
- Since 1965, after the installation of a projector, the Sænat meets for a movie night every year.