Government of Rikutsar

The **Imperial Government of****Rikutsar** is unique internationally. *De jure* it is an Absolute Diarchy, with absolute power being vested in the Empresses. However, the Empresses rarely go around their own constitution, and so *de facto* Rikutsar is an Executive Monarchy, a type of constitutional monarchy where the monarchy retains significant (but not absolute) power.

In this system, the Empresses hold lifelong terms in office. Beneath the Empresses are three councils:

* **Legal Council** – *Gumdiuz* – in charge of both passing and interpreting laws. Technically the most powerful council. Inherently non-partisan. Defers to the recommendations of the Empresses. Consists of less than 10 members.
* **Civil Council** – *Lisdiuz* – in charge of civil affairs and defers to the Gumdiuz. Inherently non-partisan. Defers to the recommendations of the Gumdiuz or the Empresses. Unicameral and consists of 200 or so members.
* **Foreign Council** – *Unendiuz* – in charge of managing foreign affairs *and* military action. Defers to, in order of precedence, the Gumdiuz, the Lisdiuz, and the Empresses. Consists of 50 or so members.

There is also a 4th council, the **Civil-Legal** council (*Gwirgumdiuz*), that is non-permanent and only convened when deemed proper by statutes and the constitution. It almost always consists of members from both the Gumdiuz and the Lisdiuz.

## The Diarchy

Main article: The EmpressesThe two heads of state and government in Rikutsar are the **Empresses** (*Cárriguisurec*) from whom all governmental power flows. Both are not bound by the constitution, possesses complete legislative and judicial power, and are *de jure* Absolute Monarchs. No national-level decision of any kind described in the constitution can be made without their express approval, and they have veto power over all local-level decisions should they be reported to them. However, all decisions one makes can be overridden by the other, and in general they do not overrule the constitution, making them executive and constitutionally bound Monarchs in practice.

## Voting

National-level elected positions include representatives of the *Lisdiuz*, and various cantonal and local-level positions are also elected.

These elections overwhelmingly employ a Borda count system of ranked voting. Due to the highly controversial general elections of 1923, which saw a cantonal council ballot in Leached with 12 candidates of near-identical political disposition, the national government passed a law that enables the creation of political parties and requires primary elections per political party. There are currently 3 parties:

* The **Socialist Party** (*Guirei Chugh*) [G] – the official state party, which advocates for the existing system of state socialism established in the late 1800s.
* The **Cultural Preservation Party** (*Etenuelire Chugh*) [E] – a minor party that advocates for the return to feudal/mercantilistic economics and the preservation of Rikutsaren traditions.
* The **Progress Party** (*Leariguge Chugh*) [L] – a minor party that advocates for more democracy and more money towards scientific study.

Political parties are mostly existent to advocate for laws instead of to pass them (in this sense they're more like lobbies than parties). Officially the Empresses do not side with any political party, but Óasmae was one of the original founders of the Socialist Party.

## Legislative System

The Legislative System used within this government system is rather unique. Any citizen can write bills and create proposals for consideration before any council, but it must petition 1/100th of the national population at last census to do so (currently 132,658), meaning that gaining support for legislation requires some publicity. There are 2 levels of approval that a proposal must go through before being put into effect (there are heavy regulations on how this can be done), 3 levels if the proposal involves the military or foreign affairs. To make understanding this system easier, the following hypothetical situation has been created:

Suppose that a citizen wishes to go to war with another nation. Before any declaration can be passed, this proposal must go through certain steps. First, it must pass the aforementioned petition quota. Then it must be presented to the *Unendiuz*, as this proposal involves the military and foreign affairs, for a vote. Voting in this system is majority instead of Borda, and passage is determined by the number of yes votes divided by the quorum, which consists of all present non-abstaining members. If the vote fails, the proposal is scrapped. Then, if the vote passes, the proposal passes to the *Lisdiuz*for a vote. As before, a majority vote is held, and if the vote fails the proposal is scrapped.

The *Gumdiuz* does not vote on the proposal at any point but can intervene in the process and issue a *writ of nonlegality* if necessary. This causes the proposal to be scrapped.

Finally, if that vote passes with no objections from the Gumdiuz, the proposal must be approved by *both* Empresses with no objection. One Empress, should she object, can veto the decision. This veto applies to all similar proposals as decided by the Gumdiuz and is irreversible until, if it's a bill from the legislature, the legislative session ends or until, if it's an executive order, the Empress who vetoed issues a *reversal of veto*. If the proposal is approved, then the Unendiuz can draft a formal declaration of war.