Tribune of the Plebs
In reaction to the redundancy of the dictatorship, the senate party were in need of a new emergency power that would not fall under the public rights of "provocatio" and "intercessio" (or veto). The "populares" under Tiberius Gracchus had challenged the power of the senate and began with a program of land reform. Because he was a Tribune of the Plebs, the senate needed extraordinary power to stop him, since Gracchus was able to appeal his demands directly to the people and bring them into law.