Politics of Calliebrium

**Politics of Calliebrium** takes place in the framework of a representative democratic constitutional republic, in which the Lord Protector is head of state and the Prime Minister of Calliebrium is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the central government and the 15 state governments. Executive power is delegated by legislation and social conventions to a unitary parliamentary democracy while legislative power is vested in parliament and the 15 state assemblies. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, though the executive maintains a certain level of influence in the appointment of judges to the courts.

The Constitution of the Republic of Calliebrium is codified and the system of government is based on the Westminster system. The hierarchy of authority in Malaysia, in accordance to the Constitution, stipulates the three branches (administrative components) of the Calliebrimium government as consisting of the Executive, Judiciary and Legislative branch. Whereas, the Parliament consists of the Senate (Upper house) and the House of Representatives (Lower House).

Calliebrium has had a multi-party system since the first direct election of the House of Representatives on a first-past-the-post basis. The ruling party was the Libertarian Republican Party (LRP) and from September onwards, the Coalition of Current Freedoms (CoCF), a coalition which consists of the LRP and the Greek Liberal Party (GLP). Together with its predecessor, the CoCF government served for 333 days until it lost power to the Socialist Front coalition in the 2nd general election that was held on 19th June 2023.

The opposition primarily consist of the National Libertarian Coalition (NLC) which comprises the Libertarian Republican Party (LRP), Greek Liberal Party (GLP), St. Peter's National Party (SPNP), Calliebrium Christian Democratic Party (CCDP). Other parties that have not won a single seat in Parliament are also considered opposition parties, which includes the Young Calliebrium Party (YCP), Franciston Association of New Youth (FANY), Progress Party of Calliebrium (PPC), Calliebrium Conservative Front (CCF), Calliebrium People's Party (CPP) and the Workers' Socialist Union (WSU).

Although Calliebrimium politics has been relatively stable, critics allege that "the government, ruling party, and administration are intertwined with few countervailing forces".

## History

### Early development

Early organised political movements in Calliebrium have existed long before independence by native Pacific Islanders and usually comprise of loose alliances of interest groups and individuals primarily concerned with social justice, social welfare, economic justice, social progress and religious freedom. Since the 20th century, most political organisations were primarily concerned with local autonomy or outright independence of the Calliebrimium islands. However, after the declaration of independence, the politics of Calliebrium were organised along ethnic lines as more non-natives became citizens of Calliebrium.

## The Lord Protectorate

*Main Article: Lord Protectorate of Calliebrium*

The Lord Protector, currently Sir Isaak Georgios, is the head of state of Calliebrium. Though by law, he takes little part in the government, the Lord Protectorate remains the fount in which ultimate executive power over government lies. These powers are known as institutional prerogative and can be used for a vast amount of things, such as the issue or withdrawal of passports, to the dismissal of the prime minister or even the declaration of war. The powers are delegated from the Lord Protector personally, in the name of the Republic, and can be handed to various ministers, or other officers of the Lord Protectorate, and can purposely bypass the consent of Parliament.

The head of government, the prime minister, also has weekly meetings with the sovereign, where he may express his feelings, warn, or advise the prime minister in the government's work.

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Calliebrium, The Lord Protector is considered as the Supreme Head of the Republic. As a constitutional head, the Lord Protector is to act on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Lord Protector basically has three broad power vested in him:

* The power to exercise based on the advice from the Prime Minister and the Cabinet
* The power to exercise based on his discretionary power (without the consent or influence of any other authority)
* The power to pardon (granting of pardons), reprieves and respites, and/or of remitting, suspending or commuting sentences

The Lord Protector is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces (i.e. Police, Army) in the Republic. He is also the head of the Anglican faith in Calliebrium.

## The Executive

Executive power in Calliebrium is exercised by the Lord Protector, Sir Isaak Georgios, via the Cabinet and the devolved state legislative assemblies of all 15 states of Calliebrium.

### The Cabinet

The Lord Protector appoints a Prime Minister as the head of the Cabinet in the Calliebrium, guided by the strict convention that the Prime Minister should be the member of the House of Representatives most likely to be able to form a Government with the support of that House. In practice, this means that the leader of the political party with an absolute majority of seats in the House of Representatives is chosen to be the Prime Minister. If no party has an absolute majority, the leader of the largest party is given the first opportunity to form a coalition. The Prime Minister then selects the other Ministers which make up the Government and act as political heads of the various Government Departments. In accordance with constitutional convention, all ministers within the government are either Members of parliament or peers in the Senate.

As in some other parliamentary systems of government (especially those based upon the Westminster system), the executive (called "the government") is drawn from and is answerable to Parliament – a successful vote of no confidence will force the government either to resign or to seek a parliamentary dissolution and a general election. In practice, members of parliament of all major parties are strictly controlled by whips who try to ensure they vote according to party policy. If the government has a large majority, then they are very unlikely to lose enough votes to be unable to pass legislation.

#### The Prime Minister in the Cabinet

The Prime Minister, currently Jeremiah Nikolaidis, is the most senior minister in the Cabinet. Their tenure begins when they are appointed by the Lord Protector. The Prime Minister is responsible for chairing Cabinet meetings, selecting Cabinet ministers and formulating government policy. The Prime Minister being the *de facto* leader of Calliebrium, exercises executive functions that are nominally vested in the sovereign (by way of the Institutional Prerogatives).

Theoretically, the Prime Minister is *primus inter pares* (i.e., Latin for "first among equals") among their Cabinet colleagues. While the Prime Minister is the senior Cabinet Minister, they are theoretically bound to make executive decisions in a collective fashion with the other Cabinet ministers. Cabinet meetings are typically held weekly, while Parliament is in session.

### Devolved State Legislative Assemblies

Each state has a unicameral state legislative chamber (Malay: *Dewan Undangan Negeri;* abbrev: SLA) whose members are elected from single-member constituencies. State governments are led by Chief Ministers, who are state assembly members from the majority party in the SLA. Parliamentary elections are held at least once every five years, with the last general election being in June 2022. Registered voters of age 18 and above may vote for the members of for the state legislative chamber and voting is not mandatory.

The state governments of all 15 states are responsible for all issues that are not explicitly reserved to Parliament. Governments are led by Chief Ministers, assisted by various Ministers with individual portfolios and remits. All state ministers and SLA members are by law, required to swear an oath of allegiance to the Republic and the Lord Protector.

As of October 2023, PM Jeremiah Nikolaidis have tabled the Devolution Act, which seeks to increase the number of seats on the state level and grant significant autonomy for the state governments on certain provisions not covered in the Constitution of the Republic such as taxation and land reforms.

## Legislature

The Calliebrimium Parliament is the supreme legislative body in the republic (i.e., there is parliamentary sovereignty), and government is drawn from and answerable to it. Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). There are also devolved State Legislative Assemblies in each state with varying degrees of legislative authority.

### Calliebrimium Parliament

*Main Article: Parliament of Calliebrium*

#### House of Representatives

Calliebrium is divided into parliamentary constituencies by the Election Commision. Each constituency elects a Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Representatives at general elections and, if required, at by-elections. As of the 2023 general election there are 45 constituencies. After the passing of the Anti-Party Hopping Act, MPs who have quit from their party are by law, required to vacate their seat to make way for a by-election.

In modern times, all prime ministers and leaders of the opposition have been drawn from the House of Representatives. However since the 2nd Nikolaidis Cabinet, all parties who are not apart of the government coalition are considered opposition parties, including newly registered parties or parties that have not won any seats in Parliament.

One party usually has a majority in parliament, because of the use of the First Past the Post electoral system, which has been conducive in creating the current Two-party system. The Lord Protector normally asks a person commissioned to form a government simply whether it can *survive* in the House of Representatives, something which majority governments are expected to be able to do. In exceptional circumstances the Lord Protector asks someone to 'form a government' *with a parliamentary minority* which in the event of no party having a majority requires the formation of a coalition government or 'confidence and supply' arrangement. This option is only ever taken at a time of national emergency, such as war-time.

#### Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of Calliebrium, consisting of 25 senators, with one senator for each state, while the other 10 are appointed by the Lord Protector.

The Senate usually reviews legislation that has been passed by the lower house, the House of Representatives. All bills must usually be passed by both Houses of Parliament, before they are sent to the Lord Protector for royal assent. However, if the Senate rejects a bill, it can only delay the bill's passage by a maximum of a year before it is sent to the Lord Protector, a restriction similar to that placed on the House of Lords in the United Kingdom. Like the House of Representatives, the Senate meets at the Chambers of Parliament in Franciston.

Originally, the Senate was meant to act as a check on the House of Representatives and represent the interests of the various states, based on the role played by its counterpart in the United States. However, the original constitution, which provided for a majority of state-elected senators, has since been modified to make the vast majority of senators instead appointed by the Lord Protector, thus theoretically providing an avenue for sombre, relatively non-partisan reconsideration of bills, more similar to the role of the British House of Lords.

### Devolved State Legislative Assemblies

Though the Calliebrimium parliament remains the sovereign parliament, all 15 states of Calliebrium have devolved state legislative assemblies. Each can have its powers broadened, narrowed or changed by an act of the Calliebrimium Parliament. As of now, an act (Devolution Act) is undergoing debate in Parliament, which seeks to grant significant autonomy to the state assemblies and state government over provisions not covered by the Constitution.

Calliebrium is a unitary state with a devolved system of government. This contrasts with a federal system, in which sub-parliaments or state parliaments and assemblies have a clearly defined constitutional *right* to exist and a *right* to exercise certain constitutionally guaranteed and defined functions and cannot be unilaterally abolished by acts of the central parliament. Though Calliebrimium state assemblies' right to exist is guaranteed in the Constitution of the Republic, its powers, structures and functions have not been covered and historically only exists as a symbolic gesture. Prior to the Devolution Act, each state assembly only has 6 seats, which in practice cannot form a stable or functional state government to govern the states. All devolved institutions are elected by proportional representation on a First-Past-the-Post basis.

## Judiciary

Calliebrimium law is based on common-law principles. The essence of common-law is that law is made by judges sitting in courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of legal precedent (*stare decisis*) to the facts before them. The highest court in the judicial system is the Supreme Court, followed by the Court of Appeal, and two High Courts, one for the Western Islands and one for the Eastern Islands. The subordinate courts in each of these jurisdictions include Sessions Courts, Magistrates' Courts, and Courts for Children. Calliebrium also has a Special Court to hear cases brought by or against the Lord Protector or any former Lord Protectors. The judiciary is theoretically independent of the executive and the legislature, although supporters of the government hold many judicial positions.

Calliebrium's official and national religion is Anglicanism, however constitutionally the republic remains a secular republic with no laws being influenced by any religious principles or beliefs. There are calls by various political parties such as the Calliebrium Christian Democratic Party (CCDP) to make the Holy Bible an official reference source for future laws, and to make a separate court for Anglican Christians in Calliebrium only, however all proposals to make Calliebrium an official Christian republic has been rejected by the central government.