Parliament

Federal Seal of the Democratic States of Toin

### Commons political groups

Social Democrats, Constitution, Reform, Libertarian, The Greens, Acterland Admission, Jampired Admission

## Meeting place

Parliament House in Whitelaw

The **Honourable Houses of Parliament of the Democratic States of Toin** is the federal legislature of the Democratic States of Toin. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower **Honourable House of Commons**, composed of 73 Members of Parliament, and the upper **Honourable and Noble Council of Villages**, composed of 18 Councillors. Toin is divided into 73 legislative Voting Districts, divided based on population, each of which elects one MP, while each state elects three Councillors on an at-large basis. Territories are afforded only one MP and one Councillor, which act as observers and cannot vote on most matters but may introduce resolutions.

Parliament meets in Parliament House at Government Place in the Whitelaw Capital Territory.

As of August 2023, Social Democrats control the House of Commons, holding a 46-27 majority. Councillors in the Council of Villages, by constitutional amendment, are independent politicians only, and do not officially belong to any political party, even if they tend towards one versus another.

## History

Parliament can trace its ancestry to the Constitutional Convention of 1846-1847, which acted much like modern Parliament during its short, 10 month existence. After all 66 delegates agreed on the final draft of the Constitution, the Constitutional Convention was immediately dissolved for 2 months, when Queen Victoria approved of the Constitution and granted independence in July 1847, at which point a general election was held and Parliament met one month later in August 1847 for the very first time.

### Female suffrage

From almost the very beginning, arguments over giving women the right to vote dominated the legislative proceedings of the then-young Parliament. Some sympathetic legislators carried genuine concerns over women deserving the right to vote, most legislators simply believed politics was a "men's issue" and would not only entice women to disobey their husbands, but would also encourage women to enter the field of politics, both of which Toinan society considered to be unacceptable in the first 70 years of Toin's existence as an independent nation.

However, in 1851, Anchorton was the first and only state to grant women's suffrage, which outraged federal legislators who appealed to the Supreme Court of the Democratic States of Toin, which heard the case in October the next year and overturned the law as "legally and morally invalid". Women's suffrage would only be granted nation-wide after Cheyenne Winters of Anchorton disguised herself as a man and registered to vote, then submitting her ballot successfully, in the 1863 election. After her ruse was discovered, her ballot was overturned and her registration suspended. Ultimately, she sued the State of Anchorton, and continually heard appeals up to the Supreme Court over the next four years. The Supreme Court's decision in 1865 ultimately overturned their prior 1852 decision and granted white women the right to vote nation-wide, provided they have their husband's permission and voted in the same way, which many considered ironic as Supreme Court courtesies provided they could not appear in the Supreme Court without a male escort, which she did not have as her husband had passed away between the election and the hearing. Full suffrage for men and women of all races would not be granted until 1911, when Parliament passed the Suffrage Constitutional Amendment Act of 1911, which amended the constitution to include the right to vote for all. Anti-suffragettes appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the amendment as "morally invalid". The Supreme Court again heard the appeal, and partially overturned their 1865 decision to grant women the right to vote *without* their husband's permission, nor did they have to vote in the same way, but otherwise upheld their decision and the amendment remained in place. This 1911 decision remains current today, and President of The Göder Institute, Wilhelm Göder, Jr, addressed Parliament on the 100th anniversary of the decision and included in his speech a brief description of what modern political society might have looked like had women's suffrage not been permitted.

## Meetings

The bicameral body is composed of legislators, beginning the legislative session annually on the first Monday after inauguration day. In odd-numbered years, when the federal budget is debated, Parliament meets for 100 days, and in even-numbered years, they meet for 60 days. The President of the Democratic States of Toin can call legislators in for a special 30-day session at any time. Legislators also can call themselves into special session by a two-thirds vote by both the House of Commons and the Council of Villages.

### Television coverage

Debates within both the House and the Council, as well as committee meetings and other special events within or relating to Parliament are broadcast throughout Toin on the Federal Public Access Network, which also broadcasts meetings, speeches, press conferences, and other events relating to the judiciary, except for criminal, civil, and appeal cases, the executive, and the military public affairs system.

## Vacancies

When a vacancy occurs in the middle of a term, the district central committee of the political party that last held the seat in the district that contains the voting district nominates four candidates, and the board of district governors chooses among them. A special election is then held alongside December general elections. If a voting district comprises multiple districts, the state central committee of the party then selects four candidates, and the presidents of the board of district governors jointly choose one.

## Compensation

As of August 2023, legislators receive an annual salary of £216,387 (291,148.70 $US). The Speaker of the House and the Chairperson of the Council each receive salaries of £201,576 (271,220.50 $US). The federal daily allowance is set at £232 (312.15 $US) as of 2023.