Terrum Federation

## Overview

The **Terrum Federation (T.F.)** , commonly known as **The Federation**, is a continental nation primarily located in Northern hemisphere. It consists of 21 states, a federal district and some minor possessions. It is the world's only known land mass. The Federation has a population of almost 117 million people. The national capital is Andres, and the most populous city is Marren.

The Federation is a federal republic and a representative democracy with three separate branches of government, including a bicameral legislature. Considered a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities, its population has been profoundly shaped by the refugees who first landed on the continent after surviving the Great Calamity that devastated the world. Today, most records of human history before the calamity has been lost except for some religious and cultural aspects that have managed to survive.

### Government and politics

The Federation is a federal republic of 21 states, a federal district and several uninhabited island possessions. It is a federal republic and a representative democracy "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law."

In the Terrumian federalist system, citizens are usually subject to two levels of government: federal and state (in some cases, major cities have local governments). In almost all cases, executive and legislative officials are elected by a plurality vote of citizens by district.

The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Federal Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal document. The Constitution establishes the structure and responsibilities of the federal government and its relationship with the individual states. All laws and governmental procedures are subject to judicial review, and any law can be voided if the courts determine that it violates the Constitution.

The federal government comprises three branches:

* Legislative: The bicameral National Diet, made up of the House of Councillors and the National Assembly, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government.
* Executive: The President is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law (subject to an override by the diet), and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to House approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
* Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with House approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.

The National Assembly has 405 members, each representing an assembly district for a four-year term. Assembly seats are apportioned among the states by population. Each state then draws single-member districts to conform with the census apportionment.

The House of Councillors has 38 members, each representing their state at-large for an eight-year term; half of the House seats are up for election every four years. House seats are apportioned among the states by population. Members are then elected by statewide proportional vote.

The president serves a five-year term and may be elected to the office no more than twice. The president is elected by direct vote having previously been elected by an indirect electoral college system in which the determining votes are apportioned to the states. The electoral college vote system was abolished by the 139 A.G.R. National Referendum taking effect in the The Twenty-Ninth Terrum Federation Presidential Election.

The Supreme Court, led by the chief justice of the Terrum Federation, has five members, who serve for life.