New Jerusalem Council of Ministers
The New Jerusalem Council of Ministers is a single chamber provincial legislature headed by the Exarch of New Jerusalem, who performs a combination of the functions of the speaker of most parliaments and of the head of a provincial government. Every member of the legislature is styled as minister, although they may not be a government minister assigned to a particular portfolio, which is how the term is usually used in other legislatures.
The Council of Ministers elects (usually, although not exclusively, from its membership) the Eparchos of New Jerusalem. The Eparchos then selects the Sekretikoi and Kritai from the Council of Ministers. The Eparchos together with the Sekretikoi and the Kritai together with the Exarch form the provincial government. The Eparchos can be removed from office by a motion of no confidence passed by the Council of Ministers, or by the Exarch's impeachment combined with one third of the Council of Ministers. Without the support of at least one third of the Council of Ministers, however, the Exarch cannot remove an Eparchos from office, only impeach him/her, which has no actual impact on the Eparchos continuing to exercise the duties of office.
Contents
Election and Composition
The Council of Ministers is elected every five years. It is composed of sixty District Ministers, ten Church Ministers, and thirty Indian Ministers, elected as follows:
District Ministers
Every Imperial Citizen who is a resident of a district and is over the age of twenty one is allowed to vote for their district minister. Voting is optional, and is conducted at temporary polling booths established in easily accessible places, like school halls and churches. Any citizen may nominate his or herself as a candidate, and all candidates are listed on the ballot in a randomly selected order. Voting is compulsory preferential, which means that a voter must number the box next to each candidate's name in order of preference.
Forty ministers are elected from the city of New Jerusalem itself, representing districts with approximately equal populations. The districts are referred to by number only, and are redistributed every ten years, ensuring that they all have the same population (within a margin of 5% on either side).
Twenty ministers are elected from the rest of the Exarchate, once again representing districts with approximately equal populations. These rural districts are referred to by name, usually of the largest town in the district. Redistribution of rural districts occurs every ten years, ensuring that the population is more or less equal between each rural district (within a margin of 10% on either side).
Church Ministers
The Archbishop of New Jerusalem appoints ten ministers, appearing in person at the Julian Palace advising the Exarch of his selections on election day, before any counting of votes has started. This prevents the Archbishop from waiting to see the composition of the new Council of Ministers before making his selection. Church ministers must all be lay people - they cannot belong to any religious or lay order. They must be Imperial Citizens, and they must be residents of the Exarchate in order to be eligible. If the Archbishop nominates somebody ineligible, then no minister is appointed in his or her place until the next election. In the past, it was not unusual for it to be discovered some months after election day that a particular church minister was not eligible, and thus the Church lost that vote in the Council of Ministers until the next election.
Indian Ministers
In addition to voting for their district minister, any Aboriginal Pantocratorian resident (citizen or not) of the Exarchate may vote for the so-called Indian Ministers. Any person who is at least one eighth Aboriginal Pantocratorian classifies as an Aboriginal Pantocratorian and is eligible to cast an "Indian ballot" in addition to their district ballot at their polling place. Any citizen who meets the same qualifications may stand as a candidate on the Indian ballot.
The thirty Indian ministers are elected according to proportional representation. Parties and candidates form lists, and are declared elected if they receive a number of votes greater than the quota necessary to be elected (which is equal to the total number of votes cast divided by thirty). Any votes they received in excess of the quota are passed on to the next candidate on their list at a lesser value. The ballot is also conducted according to affirmative action rules, so that twelve men are elected, twelve women, and six candidates of either gender - the affirmative action rule was instituted in the late 1970s after widespread criticism that Indian women were vastly underrepresented in the Council of Ministers.
Council of Ministers (elected 2006)
Composition
The largest political parties in the Council of Ministers are exclusively provincial - the Indian-Roman Friendship Party and the New Jerusalem Reform Party. The Pantocratorian Socialist Alliance and the United Christian Front are both active in Exarchate politics, and are each making a more concerted effort to increase their representation at a provincial level. The Constantinople Party enjoyed a lot of support from the Exarchate in the second 2004 election for the Pantocratorian Imperial Parliament, but this was largely attributed to the issue of Greek being made an official language once again, and support has fallen away dramatically from the Constantinople Party, especially since the party's championing of the Greek Orthodox religion. The Constantinople Party has no presence at all in the Council of Ministers.
| Party | Leader(s) | Description | District Members | Church Members | Indian Members |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian-Roman Friendship Party | Eparchos Markos Renis | The Indian-Roman Friendship Party is a party with a particular focus on social harmony between Pantocratorian Aboriginals and European Pantocratorians. Its manifesto is focussed on improving services in rural and aboriginal communities. It has eight district members from city districts, and sixteen from country ones, making it by far the popular party in rural districts. | 24 | 0 | 16 |
| New Jerusalem Reform Party | Gregorios Yannipoulos | The New Jerusalem Reform Party is a progressive party whose powerbase is almost entirely in the city of New Jerusalem itself. Its agenda is primarily municipal, focussed on increased services and improved infrastructure for the city. It holds none of the rural districts. | 26 | 0 | 8 |
| Pantocratorian Socialist Alliance | Isabelle Karamarkos | The Pantocratorian Socialist Alliance is a party formed of trade unions and regional socialist parties. It supports a moderate socialist agenda, especially focussed on labour reform, public education and public healthcare. | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| United Christian Front | Isaakios Euthanatos | The United Christian Front is a moderate right-wing party in many respects, and is especially socially conservative along the lines of traditional Catholic teachings. | 4 | 10 | 4 |
Office Bearers
The Majority
- Eparchos and Leader of the Majority: Markos Renis (Indian-Roman Friendship Party)
- Sakellarios and Deputy Leader of the Majority: Isaakios Euthanatos (United Christian Front)
- Logothetes tou Genikou: Yannis Peropenes (Indian-Roman Friendship Party)
- Orphanotrophos: Maria Dekohitep (Indian-Roman Friendship Party)
- Quaestor: Petros Jihep (Indian-Roman Friendship Party)
- Majority Whip: Konstantinos Manuelopoulos (Indian-Roman Friendship Party)
The Minority
- Leader of the Minority: Gregorios Yannipoulos (New Jerusalem Reform Party)
- Deputy Leader of the Minority: Maria-Konstantina Diogena (New Jerusalem Reform Party)
- Minority Whip: Patokantas Demetriopoula (New Jerusalem Reform Party)
