Tallian Federal Parliament

The Tallian Federal Parliament is the legislative branch of the Tamwull Government. It consists of three elements: the Executive Head, the Upper House and the Lower House. The latter two meet in different chambers in the Tamwull Senate in Roufort.

## History

The Tallian Federal Government was originally created by Henrik Eklund in Erstal after the successful Erstal Rebellion in **352PR** after the Tamwull Constitution was voted in by the people and the current council.

The Government officially moved to the new Tamwull capital Roufort in **435PR** after the construction of the Tamwull Senate.

## Composition and Electoral Systems

The Tamwull Constitution establishes the Tallian Federal Parliament consisting of three components: the Executive Head, the Upper House and the Lower House.

### Executive Head

The Executive Head’s role in parliament is usually symbolic, though they do hold the power to dissolve governments if they are unsuitable for the role of governing the nation.

Their ceremonial role includes swearing in and accepting the resignations of Members of Parliament, ensuring that they make an oath of allegiance before they take their seats. When a new parliament is created after a successful election, the Executive Head gives a speech explaining their role and addressing the members allegiance to Tamwull.

In the executive government, all members of the cabinet are appointed by the Executive Head on the advice of the current elected President. Though the role forces the cabinet to be made up of 80% Lower House members, otherwise the Executive Head decides the members themselves.

If a block happens in the legislative process, the Executive Head can dissolve both the Lower House and Upper House, forcing an election. If the extreme situation occurs that a Government still isn’t functioning, the Executive Head can give the power to another party to form Government.

### Upper House

The Upper House of the Tallian Parliament consists of 60 members, with each state having an equal number of Senators that are directly elected. The voting process is done through a first-past-the-post method, meaning that the first member to pass a certain number is the Senator of that region and all voting stops being counted.

The Constitution requires that if any Senator is to leave their position before the end of the year, then they are to be replaced by a member from the same party in the same region. If they are independent, then a small vote is conducted to place a new member in the seat.

### Lower House

The lower house of the Tallian Federal Parliament is the most important house, consisting of 120 members. It is where the government is formed once a party holds a majority of 61 or more seats. The leader of the party or coalition then gets sworn in as President to the Executive Head. If the government loses the confidence of the house, they must call a new election or resign.

Lower House members are elected using a majority-preferential system. Meaning that if they are not elected in with the original count, then preferences are counted as if they were straight votes until a member is decided.

## Procedure

Each of the two houses elects a presiding officer. The presiding officer, called a Speaker, has the job to ensure that parliament is run smoothly and oversees the ballots when legislation is voted on. The Speaker can enforce the rules that are placed on parliament if required, using the powers of the Executive Head.

One-fifth of the Lower House (24 members) and one-quarter of the Upper House (15) must be present for parliament to proceed. If the number is not met by the allocated time, the Speaker can call the meeting off. If this continues to happen, the Executive Head can get involved to ensure that parliament continues to run.

Legislation is first presented as a draft bill to the Committee of Parliament, a group of people who ensure that the writing and drafting of the bill is up to par and that there won't be any confusion about its intent.  After the Committee of Parliament approves the bill it is brought to the Lower House. The Lower House then has a 1st reading when the bill is introduced. A 2nd reading followers where the bill is debated and amended, known as ‘Heavy Debate Time’. Once the amendments are made it goes to a 3rd reading where the bill is voted on by the Lower House after debates, known as ‘Light Debate Time.’

After the bill has passed the Lower House, the exact same process is done in the Senate. Any amendments made by the Senate must be re-approved by the Lower House. If the amendments are approved it is signed by the Speakers of both houses before handing it to the Executive Head, who signs the bill into law.

## Functions

The principle function of the Tallian Federal Parliament is to pass laws and legislation. Any Senator or Lower House member is able to introduce a bill into parliament, except a bill relating to money which can only be done by a Lower House member. Most bills introduced are done so by the Ministers of either of the Cabinets.

The Federal Parliament’s legislative power is limited by the Constitution, with the rest of the powers being given to the state. The areas they do hold power in include taxation, external affairs, defence and whatever matters that the State Parliaments have referred to the Federal Parliament to legislate, which included Health emergencies in **501PR** once the Plague of the 5th Century began.

Outside of legislation, the parliament discusses motions that relate to matters of public importance.