Sobrut

The **Sobrut**, a shortened word for **Soyun Brut** (English: Union Assembly) is the legislature of the central government of Alsesia. It is bicameral, consisting of an upper body, the Denbrut, and a lower body, the Okebrut. The Sobrut meets at Union Palace in Anhel City. All members of the Okebrut, called Okebrutyns, are chosen through direct elections. Members of the Denbrut, called Denbrutyns, are mixed, with 43 being directly elected, and 32 *nominally* being appointed. There are a total of **2,392** Okebrutyns and **75** Denbrutyns.

The sitting of a Sobrut is 3 years, the term length of an Okebrutyn. Okebrutans are elected to a three-year term. Elections are conducted based on a district system. Each province and territory, based on its population, shall be divided into districts by an independent commission sent by the Royal Authority. In each district, citizens shall elect four individuals through a ranked choice vote (single-transferable). There are a total of 2,392 seats, as there are 598 electoral districts. Each district roughly represents 500,000 people, and each seat approximately 125,000. The number of electoral districts are changed with each census. The first election for the Okebrut was held in 1983.

The Denbrut consists of 4 seats for each of the 16 Provinces and 1 seat for each of the 11 Organized Territories. This equals 75 seats, with elected Denbrutyns serving a 5-year term beginning in a year ending with 5 or 0. Organized Island elections feature a single one based on plurality vote. In the 16 provinces, two seats are left to the popular vote, with the state's Denbrut "electoral district" being drawn based on a non-partisan divide of its population. The other seats are filled by appointment from the Governor and the Provincial Assembly.

The Constitution requires that members of the Sobrut must be at least 24 years old (Okebrut) or 30 years old (Denbrut), have been a citizen of Alsesia for ten years, and be an inhabitant of the province or territory which they represent. Members of the Okebrut may stand for re-election an unlimited number of times, while members of the Denbrut are limited to four terms.

Unlike many legislatures, the seating distribution of the Sobrut does not take the ideological positions of parties into consideration. The largest parties are sat on the left wing from the podium, while the smaller parties continue onto the right. This policy has been a source of controversy, as petty arguments between members of small, ideologically incompatible parties interrupting debate have been an issue.

## History

On August 8th, 1258, Czar Ēddard IX enacted the Bill of Rights, which formed an outline on actions not permissible even with such a position. In addition to the Bill of Rights, Ēddard IX also enacted the Great Charter, a landmark piece of legislation that reformed many parts of the bureaucracy and granted several liberties to Nogodyns.

The Sobrut, which still serves as the national legislature, was also established during this time. The Sobrut would be composed of hundreds of delegates sent from across the nation, with the express goal that they would petition and debate on the grievances of their constituency. At this point, the Sobrut was more a consultative body than a legislature.

Between 1258 and 1752, the Sobrut gathered at a hall in the city of Thrēczaria due to its geographic proximity to the center of the nation. During this period, the Czar would attend a session once every season (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter), where he would respond to petitions that had been passed onto the Sobrut from the local nobility. In 1752, the Sobrut was moved to Frosgard to be closer to the Czar, at the cost of the western regions of the country feeling slightly less represented due to the increase in travel distance. However, the move made sense as the east was the most populous region at the time.

The First Nogod Civil War left a great impact on the Sobrut. The body was heavily reformed to become more democratic, with members being directly elected from districts. These districts corresponded to traditional boundaries for regions and polities until 1773, when laws were reformed to form districts according to population. However, these changes only took effect after the 1780 Census.

The first wave of democratization arrived in the late 1700s. In 1773, President Norj Rikarson succeeded in passing one of his major campaign promises, abolishing all property requirements to vote for the Sobrut through the Election Reform Act. Women were also permitted to vote in the Sobrut election, although they had already been able to vote for provincial and territorial governments and had been eligible to run for office.

Another wave of democratization occurred throughout the early 1800s. The poll tax was abolished in 1816 with the passage of the Voting Act. With this, free universal suffrage was granted to virtually all citizens above the age of 19. Some exceptions included those who were presently incarcerated for a felony, and those deemed mentally incompetent by a court.

In 1942 the Sobrut moved to Anhel City in light of the ongoing war and due to Soldakia's relative distance away from major regions of conflict.

The last significant change to the structure of the Sobrut was with the 4th and current Constitution of Alsesia in 1982. This constitution divided the Sobrut into two houses, establishing the current bicameral system.

## Relationship to the Public

A key issue facing the Sobrut is the question of losanbirding. Although significant legislation has been passed to try and counteract its effects, losanbirding continues to affect elections in several provinces such as Sred and Sevar.