Orthing

The **Orthing** (Velkanian: *Orþing*) is the unicameral parliament of the Kingdom of the Velkanian Isles. It consists of 105 members who are elected through closed-list proportional representation. The Orthing was first established in the year 1004, as the legislative body for the Kingdom of Velkania. Following the annexation by the Kingdom of Framland in 1456, it was discontinued until the creation of the Velkanian Assembly as an unofficial successor in 1818. Upon the restoration of Velkanian independence in 1964, the Velkanian Assembly was suspended and replaced by the modern Orthing.

The unicameral parliament has 105 members, all of whom are elected every four years via electoral lists and proportional representation. The constitution of the Velkanian Isles does not provide for electoral constituencies, but also does not specifically prevent them. Despite this, no electoral constituencies exist and all members are elected at-large.

## Procedure

### Legislative

The legislative procedure begins when a bill is introduced to parliament; this may be done either by a member of the government or by an individual legislator, although the success rates of bills are much higher for the former than the latter. After the bill's introduction, it will be be referred to the relevant standing committee depending on the political topic that the bill falls into. The bill will go through intense scrutiny by the committee, and any relevant amendments may be added. Following this period of scrutiny, the committee will vote on whether to move the bill to the parliament floor for a vote of the entire membership. If this vote fails, the bill is declared dead.

If the committee vote passes, the bill moves to the parliament floor for debate. Debate must be held at least two days after the bill is voted out of committee. Following the debate, which can last a number of days, parliament votes on whether the bill should be passed. If the vote passes, the bill is moved to the Queen-in-Council for signage, but if it fails then a new process begins where any member of parliament may propose an amendment to the bill, which will be voted on by the entire membership of parliament. After one week, this amendment process is completed, and the bill in its final form is debated again. Following the second debate, another vote is held; if this vote passes, the bill is moved to the Queen-in-Council for signage, but if it also fails, then it is declared dead.

### Royal assent

Once a bill passes through parliament, it reaches the Queen-in-Council. Bills must be signed by the monarch and countersigned by the prime minister in order to become law. After both individuals sign the bill, it becomes law from the date outlined in the bill, or as soon as the signature is complete if there is no explicitly defined date.

The monarch holds the constitutional power to veto any passed bills of their choosing. However, this is solely a *de jure* power, and is not actually used in practice. Since the restoration of Velkanian independence in 1964, no bill has ever been vetoed by the monarch. In the case that a monarch does veto a bill, the bill is sent back to parliament for a new debate, and a simple majority vote will override the veto.

## Organization

### Speaker

*Main article: List of speakers of the Orthing*.

The presiding officer of the Orthing is the speaker. The speaker is elected at the start of each legislative session, and typically comes from the governing coalition in parliament. The speaker is responsible for moderating debate, making rulings on procedure, announcing the results of votes, disciplining members who break parliamentary rules, and other similar tasks.

Since 2018, the speaker has been Guðleifur Kristján Kveldúlfarson of the Liberal-Conservative Party.

### Standing committees

There are thirteen standing committees of the Orthing, of which the members of the Orthing are even organized into. Twelve of the standing committees are related to specific political topics, while the thirteenth is related to constitutional affairs and government oversight.

The twelve standing committees related to political topics each overlap with one or minister government ministers, and are responsible for oversight over the executive branch ministry that they correspond to. Twelve of the standing committees are chaired by a member of the governing coalition, while the thirteenth is chaired by a member of the opposition.

### Party groups

Each party in parliament is represented by a party group. Party groups are led by a group board and chaired by a parliamentary leader. Typically, the party leader also serves as parliamentary leader, but parties that are represented in the government typically have their party leaders appointed to ministerial positions; in this case, a different member of the party is elected as parliamentary leader.

 Independence Party | 17
 Social Democratic Party | 14
 People's Party | 13

## Elections

Elections in the Velkanian Isles are typically held every four years, with the specific date of the election being decided by parliament several months prior. It is constitutionally mandated that regularly scheduled elections be held four years following the previous, between the first of the preceding month and the last of the succeeding month. Snap elections are allowed, and may be requested by the prime minister and called by the monarch at any point. In the case of snap elections, the regularly scheduled election's date is moved so that it is four years after the snap election, rather than four years after the previous regularly scheduled election.

Members of the Orthing are elected based on party-list proportional representation at-large. This means that at the start of each electoral session, the leaders of each political party form a list of candidates that they intend to propose to stand in the upcoming election. Party lists can have any number of candidates on it, as long as it doesn't exceed 105 names; some parties have a list of as few as one name, and in cases like this where the party wins more seats than it has names on its list, then the extra seats are awarded to other parties. Most major parties contest elections with a complete list of 105 names, however.

Voters do not cast ballots for candidates, but instead cast ballots for party lists. Due to the closed-list method that Velkanian elections use, voters have no ability to increase the standings of members of the list, and the order is determined solely by the party leaders. With this, having a name higher on the list greatly increases a candidate's odds of receiving a seat, while candidates at the end of the list are almost assured they will not receive a seat. Seats are awarded to parties using the d'Hondt method with a 5% electoral threshold; this means that parties must receive at least 5% of the vote in order to win a seat, and parties who reach this threshold receive an amount of seats that is near-exactly proportional to the percentage of the vote that they received.

### Candidates

Candidates for elections must be Velkanian citizens who are at least 18 years old. Additionally, candidates must have resided in the Velkanian Isles continuously for the five years immediately preceding the date of the election in order to take their seat in parliament.

Each member of parliament is also elected with a deputy; their deputy has the authority to fill in for the member of parliament for any votes or debates, with explicit permission from both the member of parliament and parliamentary leader. Additionally, the deputy will take the member of parliament's seat should they become temporarily or permanently unable to serve during their term; this is especially common for members of parliament who become government ministers, with ministers almost always having their legislative duties carried out by their deputy while they serve in the executive branch. Because of this, special elections to fill a vacated seat do not exist, and in the case of an elevated deputy resigning or dying, the seat remains empty until the next election.

## Members

The Orthing has a membership of 105 members, which is a constitutionally mandated set amount that cannot change. If an elected member of parliament cannot serve, then they are temporarily or permanently replaced by their deputy; this most often occurs when a member of parliament is nominated to serve as a government minister. On each party list, each candidate is listed with a deputy, and they are elected together. In the case that neither the member of parliament nor the deputy can serve, then the seat is left vacant until the next election.

In the chamber, seats are laid out in a hemicycle. Cabinet members in attendance are given seats in the front row, while other members of parliament are seated behind them, according to party group. Viewed from the speaker's chair, seats belonging to the Green-Socialist Party are seated near the front, furthest to the left, while seats belonging to the Independence Party are seated near the front, furthest to the right, while other parties make up the middle and back.

### Lists of members

* List of members of the Orthing, 2018–2022