Sober Thought government

Sober Thought is a secular republic in which the federation, the provinces and the municipalities all have constitutional rights and obligations described in each of their respective sections. No government may promote religion or monarchy, and no religious or (former) royal person shall be elected or employed by any level of government except on the same basis as other citizens.

Federal government

The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over: international relations, foreign and domestic intelligence, criminal law, the constitution (including entrenched civil and human rights), prisons, currency, weights and measures, maritime transportation, air transportation, and broadcast communications and post. The House of the Provinces may choose the official language(s) of the federal government and its agencies. It has shared jurisdiction with the provinces over: defence (including emergency measures), education and ground transportation.

The federal government is represented by the Community Conscience (head of state elected by universal suffrage), Chief Minister (head of government elected by the House of the Federation) and Provinces' Speaker (chair of and elected by the House of the Provinces, rarely well known or long served). The exclusive and shared jurisdictions are organised into four ministries of three or four vice ministries each: Ministry of Community Wellbeing, Ministry of Community Prosperity, Ministry of Community Connections and Ministry of Community Defence. The Chief Minister appoints the Ministers and Vice Ministers. Collectively, they are all called the Cabinet and the five people acting as Chief Minister and Minister are called the Inner Cabinet. And with equal logic, the Vice Ministers are collectively the Outer Cabinet.

The federal government may fund itself by import and export levies and income taxes. It may also borrow on its own credit.

Community Conscience

The people of Sober Thought believe that the country must exist as a community or it is no longer worth of the name Sober Thought. The electorate as a whole chooses, from a list of candidates vetted by the House of the Provinces, the Community Conscience as head of state.

The Community Conscience performs largely a ceremonial role but has large reserve powers to defend and promote human rights, the constitution and the values of the whole country. After an election, the Community Conscience chooses the leader of the largest party or party coalition in the House of the Federation to serve as Chief Minister (formerly known as Federal Leader). Subsequently, the House of the Federation may remove the Chief Minister provided it simultaneously elects a new one in a constructive vote of non-confidence.

House of the Federation

Also known as the parliament, this body consists of 300 representatives representing no more than 240 (currently 230) electoral districts in the following manner:

The total population of the country is divided by 300, the total number of HF seats, to establish the representational quotient (i.e., how many people per HF seat). Each province is assigned HF seats based on these calculations subject to the following rules: each province must have at least one HF seat, fractional seats owed to provinces are added in order from the province with the fewest HF seats to that with the most and fractional seats owed from provinces are deducted in order from the province with the most HF seats to that with the least.

Within each province, MHFs are elected in the following manner:

• If there is only one MHF, simple plurality in an electoral district comprising the entire province.
• If there are two MHFs, the entire province comprises a single electoral district district in which parties are permitted a single candidate (although an unlimited number of independents closely identified with a party or issue are permitted) and the two candidates with the largest number of votes both win as constituency MHFs
• If there are more than two MHFs, four fifths (or the next smallest fraction possible) of the members shall be elected in single-member electoral districts. One fifth (or the next largest fraction possible) shall be elected through provincial party lists based on the proportional vote of each party's candidates in that province during the federal election.

Current seats/districts are assigned and voted on as follows: Central Province 110/88, Hochelaga 69/55 (missed a round up), Thuvia 40/32 (missed a round up), Cholmestay 30/24, Jarvet 11/8, Pastbeshchye (missed round up) 9/2, South Island (got unearned round up) 10/8, Braunekuste (got unearned round up) 7/5, Capital 7/5, North Island 5/4, Potato Island (got an unearned round up) 2/1.

Vacancies (whether from resignation or death) are filled as follows: constituency MHFs are replaced by a by-election (élection partielle) within 6 months of the vacancy, party list MHFs by taking the next available person on the list (the vacancy remaining unfilled if nobody is available from the list).

The House of the Federation chooses from among its membership one to serve as Chief Minister of the Community and the federal head of government. The Chief Minister has a permanent staff of civil servants underneath, called the General Directorate of Cabinet.

House of the Provinces

This chamber of government is designed to represent the interests of the provinces. Therefore, each province sets it own conditions for choosing its Members of the House of the Provinces, such election in its own provincial legislature, direct election by the people or simply by the sitting provincial government choosing its own members to have dual duty in the provincial legislature and the House of the Provinces. Consult the specific province you are interested in.

There is no set number of seats in this legislative body; rather, they are assigned on the following basis: provinces with two point five percent or less of the national population receive 1 seat; those with between two point five percent and less than five receive 2; those with five but less than ten receive 3; those with ten but less than twenty receive 4; those with twenty or more receive 5. Current membership is 30: Central Province 5, Hochelaga 5, Thuvia 4, Cholmestay 4, Jarvet 2, Pastbeshchye 2, South Island 2, Braunekuste 1, Capital 1, North Island 1, Potato Island 1.

Povincial government

Each of the eleven provinces has its own government, each sovereign in their jurisdictions.

Municipal government

Each of the sixty-odd municipalities has its own government, sovereign only in the jurisdictions of firefighting and waste management. However, they have some influence in jurisdictions formally under provincial, federal or both jurisdictions.