Pantocratorian Imperial Parliament
The Pantocratorian Imperial Parliament, located in New Rome, was founded by the Emperor Demetrius VIII in 1672. The Imperial Government is typically formed by the political party or coalition of political parties with a majority in the 540 seat single chamber Parliament.
Since Pantocratoria has no constitution which limits the powers of the Emperor or establishes the powers of the Parliament, the Imperial Parliament's legal authority is derived only from the imperial will - the Emperor wills it to rule for him in most matters, but may overrule it as he sees fit. The current Emperor, Emperor Andreus, has controlled the Imperial Parliament so that its policies and his own are in-line for most of his reign, although this policy has ended with the most recent election; Pantocratoria is now more or less jointly ruled by the Emperor and his Parliament. The previous Emperor, Emperor Isaac V, demonstrated far less autocratic resolve in his relationship with the Imperial Parliament, which he allowed to rule Pantocratoria with little or no intervention. Most emperors have moved between these two extremes, but when the two have clashed in the past, it is the emperor who usually comes out on top - providing he has the nerve for the fight.
The Imperial Parliament has no fixed terms. It is dissolved by the Emperor at the imperial pleasure, at which time fresh elections are held. It is summoned by the Emperor at the imperial pleasure to debate and enact legislation. When a member dies, his or her seat is inherited by his or her legal heir; in this way the chamber remains at its full strength until the next election. Each seat in the Imperial Parliament roughly corresponds to a parish or bishopric, depending on the population of the area (the average population represented is approximately 5.4 million).
Composition of the current Imperial Parliament
The make-up of the One Hundred and Seventh Imperial Parliament is as follows:
- Pantocratorian Socialist Alliance with 269 seats (governing party)
- Constantinople Party with 94 seats (governing party)
- Loyal Christian Front with 162 seats (opposition party)
- Pantocratoria First Party with 15 seats (opposition party)
The present leader of the majority in the house, and thus the Imperial Chancellor, is Dr Thibault Drapeur of the Pantocratorian Socialist Alliance. The deputy leader and thus Deputy Chancellor is Spiro Bolkus.
The One Hundred and Seventh Imperial Parliament was elected on the memorial of Saint Clement I in 2004. (23 November 2004)
