Politics of the Confederation of Dannistaan

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The politics of Dannistaan are based on the Westminster System of the United Kingdom with some differences. Firstly, it is adapted to cope with the fact that the Confederation of Dannistaan is not a single unitary state but, in theory, a union of five seperate sovereign states. In practice it is run along the lines of a Federal state. Each of the constituent parts of Dannistaan reserve the right, under the 1987 constitution, to secede from the Confederation. This "Escape Clause" was placed in order to prevent a second civil war breaking out (Disputes over secession and state responsibility). The constitution itself is left deliberately vague in many areas as the Westminister system is partly based on unwritten conventions and customs which have been used for many years. It does leave provision for certain areas to be defined by appropriate acts passed by the Central Parliament.

The islands nominal Head of State is the British Monarch, represented by a Governor-General. In practice the Governor-General does not interfere in the day to day running of the nation and the real power lies with the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.

Legislative

The Central Parliament of Dannistaan is the supreme legislative body of the entire Confederation. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are answerable to it. The Central Parliament itself is answerable to the constituent states of Dannistaan. It is bicameral and consists of the Tribal Assembly (Ti'volas As'embola) and the Tribal Overseers/Senate (Ti'volas O'varnos).

Ti'volas As'embola

This is the lower house of the Central Parliament and currently consists of 300 members. The members are all voted by a form of Proportional Representation (Single Transferable Vote). Because of the voting habits of the electorate, there tends to be one majority party despite the system. However coalitions have been common in the past and any majority turns out to be very small, often a difference of one or two seats. The Ti'volas As'embola is the more powerful of the two houses and most, if not all, legislation originates from this house in the form of bills, either by Government Bills, Private Member's Bills or Public Bills. The backbenchers (MPs not in the Cabinet) have the power to overrule direct orders from the Government, known as Executive Orders, if they feel it will endanger the country and it's people.

Ti'volas O'varnos

This is the upper house of the Central Parliament and consists of 150 members. The members are all voted by the Single-Member District Plurality or "First Past the Post" system. It acts as the house of review and has the power to block legislation if it violates any of the articles of the Constitution. Otherwise it may delay for a maximum of 3 sessions if they do not agree with the legislation being passed. After which the Ti'vola As'embola may force the legislation through using Article 20 of the Constitution.

Executive

The Executive branch of the Government consists of the Dannistrian Cabinet, which is a group of 8 MPs plus the Prime Minister and his Depute. The 8 are usually assigned as heads of the ministries which deal with different areas. The current ministries are:

  • Internal Ministry
  • External Ministry
  • Defence Ministry
  • Environment and Health Ministry
  • Transport Ministry
  • Economics, Industry and Trade Ministry
  • Depute Prime Ministers Office
  • Prime Ministers Office
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