Tsukimotoan Government

*For general information about the country of Tsukimoto, see Republic of Tsukimoto*

### Polity Type

Unitary parliamentary republic with an executive presidency

## Legislative Branch

### Name

Congress of Tsukimoto
(1st Chamber)National Council
(2nd Chamber)

## Judicial Branch

### Head

Supreme Court of Tsukimoto

The **Government of Tsukimoto** is a parliamentary republic that consists of legislative, executive, and judiciary branches, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Congress of Tsukimoto. Executive authority is vested in the President of Tsukimoto who is head of state and head of government, and his Cabinet.

The national government is composed of three inter-connected branches:

* Legislative: The Tsukimotoan Congress and the National Council
* Executive: The President, who is both Head of State and Head of Government
* Judicial: The Supreme Court and the Regional Appeals Courts

All bodies of the Tsukimotoan government are subject to the rule of the Constitution, which is the Supreme law in Tsukimoto.

## Legislative

The Congress of the Republic of Tsukimoto is the country's primary legislature; under the Constitution of Tsukimoto, the Congress contains 50 members elected using a mixed-member proportional system. Members of Congress are required to possess Tsukimotoan citizenship and to have lived at least 8 years within their electoral district.

Congress shares some of its legislative authority with the National Council, the second chamber of the Tsukimotoan national legislature. Constitutional amendments and laws that affect provincial powers require the consent of the National Council, in addition to Congress, to pass. Members of the Council are not directly elected; instead, they are appointed delegates of each of the provincial legislatures. Members are typically appointed each provincial election and may be recalled and replaced at any time. The seat allocation of the Council is as follows: Gijang - 5 seats, Honbetsu - 5 seats, Limburg - 5 seats, Wakuya - 5 seats, Jinan - 4 seats, Maritime Territories - 1 seat. Provincial elections often do no occur at the same time, and consequently, the membership of the Council frequently changes.

Prior to the conclusion of the Tsukimotoan Revolution in 266 G.E., members of Congress were elected chiefly by the ethnically Shingōan minority. The first elections with universal suffrage were held in 268 G.E.

The responsibilities of Congress include the making of laws, the approval of the national budget, the approval of treaties, declarations of war, impeaching public officials, and the selection of the President. In addition, Congress has the power to amend the Constitution with the concurrent vote of at least two-thirds of its membership. Draft amendments, if approved by Congress, are then submitted to the people, who shall approve or reject them at special referendums.

All decisions in Congress are decided by a majority of those present, unless otherwise stated by the Constitution, and in the case of a tie, the matter is treated as rejected.

### Speaker

#### Congress

The Speaker of Congress presides over sessions of Congress, having the power to determine who speaks as well as to open and close meetings. The Speaker is the representative of the Congress as a whole and is elected by members of Congress from among their membership via majority vote. The Speaker is a Member of Congress and has the right to vote; however, the Speaker usually refrains from voting on contentious matters in Congress. Additionally, the Speaker typically does not take part in debates.

The Deputy Speaker acts as the presiding officer over Congressional sessions in case of leave or absence of the Speaker. The Deputy Speaker used to be appointed by the Speaker, however, reforms passed in 378 required the Deputy Speaker to be elected via majority vote by Congress. In a similar manner to the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker typically refrains from voting on contentious matters or taking part in debates. Since 379, a Congressional precedent has been followed which calls for the Deputy Speaker to be a member of the second-largest party in Congress.

#### National Council

The Speaker of the National Council presides over sessions of the Council, having the power to call on members to speak and to open and close meetings. The Speaker is elected by members of the Council from amongst its membership and serves a term of 5 years with no limits on the number of terms they may serve. The Speaker typically refrains from voting on contentious matters or participating in debates. Once elected to the position, the Speaker is expected to renounce their party affiliation.

## Executive

The President and the rest of the Cabinet make up the executive branch of the national government. Other members of the Cabinet (known as Ministers) are Members of Congress who are appointed by the President to head the various departments of the national government. The practice of the Executive branch's powers is responsible to Congress, and as a whole, should the Cabinet lose confidence and support to be in office by Congress, the Congress may dismiss the Cabinet *en masse* with a motion of no confidence.

### President

The President is elected via plurality vote by the members of Congress. Only sitting members of Congress are eligible to be elected as the President. In the case that an election for the President results in a tie, the Constitution states that there shall be a national referendum on the matter in which the candidate who receives a plurality of all votes cast shall become the President. While the President has historically been the leader of the largest party in Congress, the Constitution does not explicitly state that the President must fulfill these requirements. It only states that, "At any time in which a vacancy exists within the office of the President, Congress must hold a vote to elect a new official to assume this position" and that "The President and other Ministers of State shall be required to possess Tsukimotoan citizenship and have accumulated at least eight years of residency in Tsukimoto." There are no limits on the number of terms the President may serve; however, all members of Congress, including the President, must retire upon reaching eighty years of age.

The President heads the Cabinet and exercises supervision over the executive branch, and is the head of government and the head of state. The President is additionally the commander-in-chief of the Tsukimotoan Military. He or she is vested with the power to present bills to Congress, to sign laws, and to declare states of emergency. The President presides over the Cabinet and appoints, or dismisses, the other Cabinet ministers.

Prior to 191 G.E., the President was referred to as the "Head Councilman," as he was the appointed head of the "National Council," now known as the Congress.

### Cabinet

The Cabinet of Tsukimoto consists of the President and the Ministers of State. The members of the Cabinet are appointed by the President. Members of the Cabinet must be civilians and residents of Tsukimoto for at least eight years; however, the Constitution does not require that they be members of Congress. Despite this however, the majority of those who have been appointed to cabinet positions have been members of Congress.

#### Ministries

The Ministries of Tsukimoto consist of seven total ministries, each headed by a Minister of State appointed by the President. The Ministries are as follows:

* **Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs**
	+ responsible for oversight of the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries
	+ oversees food production and food industries
	+ oversees land reclamation and rural development
* **Ministry of Defense**
	+ oversees the branches of the military
	+ responsible for national defense
* **Ministry of Finance**
	+ oversees financial policies
* **Ministry of Foreign Affairs**
	+ oversees foreign policy
	+ handles foreign relations
* **Ministry of Infrastructure**
	+ oversees infrastructure development and policy
	+ handles public transportation
* **Ministry of Justice**
	+ oversees justice affairs and the judicial system
	+ responsible for prosecution, sentencing, and the protection of rights
* **Ministry of Labor**
	+ oversees labor affairs
	+ oversees workplace safety
	+ responsible for protecting labor unions

## Judicial

The Judicial branch of Tsukimoto consists of the Supreme Court, and two other lower courts; the Regional Appeals Courts and the Local Courts. The Constitution states that the Judicial branch shall be independent from the Executive and Legislative branches in the exercise of its power. Article 54 of the Constitution states, "Judges shall rule independently according to their conscience and in conformity with the Constitution." Article 50 states that, "Judges shall not be removed except by public impeachment unless judicially declared mentally or physically unfit to perform official duties," and that, "No disciplinary action against judges shall be administered by any executive organ or agency."

Members of the Judicial branch are required by the Constitution to retire upon reaching eighty years of age.

### Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the Republic of Tsukimoto and has the power of judicial review. Members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President and reviewed by "an impartial council created by and of members of Congress," as specified in Article 52 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court only hears "cases where it is deemed that any order, rule, or regulation is in violation of the laws or the Constitution, or where a previous opinion of the Supreme Court needs modification." The Supreme Court currently contains 5 total justices. In order for a judgement to be issued by the Supreme Court, the consensus of at least 4 justices is required. In the case that no consensus is reached, the judgement of the lower court is sustained.

### Regional Appeals Courts

The Regional Appeals Courts have the jurisdiction to hear appeals to judgments rendered by Local Courts, excluding cases that have been (or will be) heard by the Supreme Court. Regional Appeals Courts have the authority to overrule judgements issued by Local Courts. These courts are also known as "Provincial Courts," as each Regional Appeals Court has jurisdiction over a single, specified province (or territory) in the country.

### Local Courts

The Local Courts have have the authority to hear initial civil and criminal cases within their geographical jurisdiction. Local Courts typically have jurisdiction over a given metropolitan area or over various smaller towns or villages.

## Local Governments

Government power is devoluted to smaller, administrative entities that oversee affairs in certain regions of the country. These entities consist of Provincial Governments and Municipal Governments. Both of these governments mirror the national government in that they both have their own executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

### Provincial Governments

The legislative branch of Provincial Governments are the Provincial Councils, which pass laws that only apply within their province. Typically, these laws are related to local taxes, hospitals, prisons, education, and property; however, the Constitution allows Provincial Councils to pass any laws, so long as they do not conflict with national laws or the Constitution. Elections for members of the Provincial Councils utilize open party list proportional representation systems in which seats are allocated according to the total percentage a party gets but voters also have some control over which party members they vote for specifically.

Provincial Councils are vested with the authority to appoint members to the National Council after each provincial election, or at any time in which a vacancy arises amongst its delegation to the National Council. Appointment of members is typically performed through a basic majority vote, and appointed members tend to come from the dominant political party, or parties, that head the provincial government.

The legislative branch elects the Provincial Premier, who serves as the chief of the Province's executive branch and the leader of the Provincial Cabinet. The Premier is tasked with nominating other members of the Provincial Cabinet who, unlike members of the National Cabinet, do not require confirmation from the legislature.

The judicial branch of Provincial Governments are the Regional Appeals Courts.

### Municipal Governments

The legislative branch of Municipal Governments are the Municipal Councils, which pass laws that only apply within their given geographic region. These laws may only pertain to building permits, zoning, parks, waste disposal, water and sewer services, infrastructure, and fire prevention. Different Municipal Governments utilize varying methods of voting for members of Municipal Councils and there is no single, common method. These voting methods include ranked-choice voting, first-past-the-post voting, and single transferable votes.

The chief of the executive branch of Municipal Governments are the Mayors. Some areas allow the general public to directly elect the mayor while others require the mayor to be elected by members of the Municipal Council. In cases of the latter method, candidates require the affirmative vote of at least half of the Council's members to be elected as Mayor. Larger regions, such as cities, feature Cabinets that work alongside the Mayor, but less-populated regions often do not have formal Cabinets.

The judicial branch of Municipal Governments are Local Courts

## Elections

### National Elections

The Republic of Tsukimoto utilizes a mixed-member proportional representation system in which voters get two votes: one to decide the representative for their single-seat constituency, and one for a political party. Seats in the legislature are filled first by the successful constituency candidates, and second, by party candidates based on the percentage of region-wide votes that each party received. The constituency representatives are elected using first-past-the-post voting, in which the candidate who receives the largest number of votes is declared the winner. Regional party representatives are drawn from pre-published party lists, in which those at the top of the list are the first to receive positions in Congress if their party has won "list-seats."

Each Party-list Region is provided with its own set of list seats proportional to its share of the national population. For example, the province of Gijang has 5 of the 35 total list seats because it contains roughly 14% of the national population. The Tsukimotoan Constitution, however, states that each region "shall have no less than two list seats;" therefore, some regions like the Maritime Territories are overrepresented in their number of seats. Party-list Regions follow the boundaries of the nation's provinces, plus the Maritime Territories, and cannot be changed unless provincial borders have been altered. List seats are given to political parties based on their share of the total vote from citizens of the region. For example, if a party wins 30% of the party vote in a region, it will receive roughly 30% of its seats (including constituency seats it has won).

#### Example: 63rd Tsukimotoan National Election

Constituency MapRegion List MapPost-Election Congress Map
1. ↑ Tsukimotoan Revolution
2. ↑ Chapter 3 of the Constitution of Tsukimoto
3. ↑ Chapter 7, Article 62 of the Constitution of Tsukimoto
4. ↑ Chapter 3, Article 37 of the Constitution of Tsukimoto
5. ↑ Chapter 3, Article 40 of the Constitution of Tsukimoto
6. ↑ Amendment 1, Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution of Tsukimoto
7. ↑ Chapter 4, Article 44 of the Constitution of Tsukimoto
8. ↑ Chapter 5, Article 51, Section 1 of the Constitution of Tsukimoto
9. ↑ Chapter 5, Article 51, Section 3 of the Constitution of Tsukimoto
10. ↑ Chapter 6 of the Constitution of Tsukimoto
11. ↑ Chapter 3, Article 36, Section 1 of the Constitution of Tsukimoto