Stádlink

The **Stádlink** (Velkanian definitive: *Stádlinkjáll*; from *stád*, "state", and *link*, "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of the Velkanian Isles. All important state-related questions pass through the Stádlink. Along with passing legislation, the Stádlink is also tasked with appointing major officeholders such as the Prime Minister, ratifying treaties, bringing about changes in law, approving budget proposals, and monitoring executive power.

The Stádlink was first founded in the 8th-century, making it the oldest parliament in the world. It held sessions until the Velkanian Isles' conquer by Forsland in the 17th-century. Afterwards, the parliament was disbanded and the Velkanian Council was established in its place. The Council later disbanded after Velkanian independence was restored in 1966, and the Stádlink has operated uninterrupted ever since.

The unicameral parliament has 105 seats and is elected every four years based on single-member constituencies. Prior to the 2020 election, members of parliament were elected based on party-list proportional representation in six constituencies corresponding to the six regions of the Velkanian Isles. This was changed following constitutional reform in August 2019, helmed by Síf María Vílhelmsdætr.

The current Speaker of the Stádlink is Hómer Jónsson.

## Powers and structure

The Stádlink performs the normal functions of a legislature in a parliamentary democracy. It enacts laws, amends the constitution, and appoints a government.

## Membership

Members of the Stádlink are full-time legislators. They are paid an annual salary of $120,000, significantly higher than the average annual salary in the Velkanian Isles of $55,600.

### Committees

The Stádlink is organized into eleven committees. Ten of the committees correspond with the ministers of the government; each commitee is led by a chairperson being appointed by the Prime Minister, and works in conjuncture with one of the ministries. The eleventh committee is the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and Oversight, which does not correspond to a ministry and is chaired by a member of the largest opposition party.

## Presidium

The presidium of the Stádlink is relatively small compared to other parliaments. The parliament is led by a speaker who is elected by the parliament at the start of the parliamentary session; the speaker is almost always a member of the governing coalition. There are then two deputy speakers. Neither deputy speaker can be part of the governing coalition; typically, one comes from the largest left-wing party not in the coalition, and the other comes from the largest right-wing party not in the coalition.

## Government

Following each election, the Monarch holds a meeting with each of the leaders of the political parties present in the Stádlink. Following this meeting, the Monarch appoints one of the leaders as Prime Minister. If a party receives a majority on their own and there is no need for a coalition, the meeting is held; the meeting also is not held if a current governing coalition maintains their majority, although it can be requested if one of the parties in the coalition requests it. While it seems as if the Monarch personally chooses the Prime Minister, this is not true; the Monarch appoints whoever is able to negotiate a majority coalition, and the meeting is merely a formality to present the conclusion of the negotiations to the Monarch.

After being appointed, the Prime Minister appoints a number of ministers to their cabinet and announces them to the Stádlink. Following this, a second meeting with the Monarch is held, where the new Prime Minister announces their ministers to the Monarch and the Monarch officially appoints them in their positions.

The Stádlink can hold a vote of no confidence against any minister at any time. If a majority of votes vote for no confidence, then the minister is forced to resign from the government and must be replaced. A vote of no confidence can also be placed against the Prime Minister. If it passes, the entire government must resign, and a snap election is held. To replace the Prime Minister until the snap election occurs, the speaker temporarily takes over Prime Minister duties, although they are not considered to be an official Prime Minister and return to the speakership following the snap election.

A vote of no confidence can only succeed if there are detractors from the majority governing coalition. Typically, as a governing coalition consists of a majority of the parliament, these votes will not pass unless members of the coalition decide to join the opposition. If a government fails to security a majority coalition and instead continues as a minority coalition, they are in danger of losing a no confidence vote at any time.

## Parties

Partisanship in the Velkanian Isles is relatively weak compared to in other nations. While most members of the Stádlink are registered with a political party, it is not uncommon for members to break from their party on important votes.

While it is possible for a single political party to win a majority in parliament, it is relatively uncommon. Due to this, parties must form coalitions in order to maintain majority control of parliament. Traditionally, the Conservatives and Social Democrats were the two-largest political parties, and would compete for the highest amount of seats each election. While neither would win a majority on their own most times, they would often coalition with the third-largest party the Liberal-Democrats, who are more centrist compared to the center-left Social Democrats and center-right Conservatives. However, this general pattern has since been broken.

## Elections

All 105 members of the Stádlink are elected in the general elections held every four years. All Velkanian citizens who are a minimum of 16 years old on the day of the election are eligible to vote, while they must be 18 years old to stand in the election as a candidate. Substitutes are elected in each general election as well, so in the case of impeachments or resignations, by-elections are rare.

### Post-2019

*Main article: List of Velkanian parliamentary constituencies.*

After the 2019 constitutional reforms helmed by Síf María Vílhelmsdætr, all 105 seats in the Stádlink became connected with 105 single-member constituencies throughout the country. Beginning in the 2020 election, political candidates must seek election in one of the 105 constituencies, and also must reside in the constituency they are seeking election in. The single-member constituencies allow for no one to be underrepresented or overrepresented in parliament, as each constituency has roughly the same amount of residents.

While the constitutional reforms were not expected to come into effect until the 2020 general election, Síf María called for a 2019 snap election, allowing the reform to come into effect earlier.

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### Pre-2019

Prior to 2020, the electoral system in the Velkanian Isles was proportional. Of the 105 seats in the Stádlink, all were fixed constituency seats allocated to the six electoral constituencies. The constituencies corresponded with the regions of the Velkanian Isles by the constitution of the Velkanian Isles. No constituency could have more than 35 seats, but none could have less than 10; this lead to an overrepresentation of less-populous regions, and an underrepresentation of more-populous regions. Members of parliament did not need to reside in the constituency they represented; those seeking election would apply to the political party's national office, and if accepted, were assigned to a constituency to stand in.

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