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Parliament of Kelelemi

From Attu Project
(Redirected from Parliament Hall)

The Parliament of Kelelemi was the supreme unicameral legislative body of the Collective Kelelemi Republic between the years 150 TT and 80 PC. It was commonly referred to as Parliament Hall, after the Izumisawa building it was situated in. The body consisted of 200 members, elected to five-year terms through nation-wide proportional representation on the basis of direct elections. Prior to the First Kelelemi Civil War, suffrage was limited to the Kawakians and the Sawaji in a system of racial hierarchy, with people of Sorewa heritage being given limited voting rights. Reforms in 37 TT gave Sorewa people with at least one Kawakian or Sawaji parent, which would be counted half as powerful as a Kawakian or Sawaji vote. After the end of the First Civil War, the Sorewa were required to be treated as equal citizens as part of the peace agreement that formed the Provisional Republic of Kelelemi. The jurisdiction of the Parliament of Kelelemi was reduced to the CKR-held territories held at the moment of the peace agreement being signed. Democratic elections were suspended twice in the Parliament's history, starting in 9 PC and lasting until 27 PC as a result of the First Kelelemi Civil War, and after the start of the Second Kelelemi Civil War, with the suspension beginning in 77 PC and lasting until the country's surrender in 80 PC.

The Parliament of Kelelemi elected the Prime Minister of Kelelemi, who served as the head of government. Following President Chadele Wersame's attempts to re-suspend elections in 52 PC, the presidency was abolished, making the Prime Minister serve as both head of government and head of state, taking on some of the ceremonial duties of the presidency. Instead of the President, the Prime Minister was sworn in by the eldest member of Parliament. This was not possible to accomplish in the case of Prime Minister Vileme Gorisi (58 PC-62 PC), who was supposed to be sworn in by Adamo Foretono, a 98-year-old double-stroke survivor who had lost the ability to speak. Once it was agreed by the parliament that the Prime Minister's inauguration should count regardless, an age-limit was imposed on candidates, mandating that they be below the age of 80 and "in good health" at the time of the election.

Collective Kelelemi Republic

The Collective Kelelemi Republic was formally established in 150 TT, after a military expansion by the Kawaki Republic that began under recently re-elected president Nekoso Yolese in 155 TT. The war was led under the justification that all of the people of Kelelemi belong to one nation of people. The Sawaji, already integrated into the population of the Kawaki Republic (and forming a large portion of its population), were taken as an example that coexistence between races was possible. Aspirations for a shared state were widespread. The Sawaji writer Atono Horesom had written that "the day the glass shatters and the invisible difference that had divided us for so long ceases, the past will die and Kelelemi will be born." While the Sorewa were seen as a backwards people, there was a prevailing notion that given a hand, they would be able to join the Kawakians and the Sawaji in a shared future. However, in historical retrospect, this was seen as obscuring the goal of conquering and culturally converting the Sorewa people. Following three years of war, the entirety of the Kelelemi isles were conquered, and with control over the entire archipelago, president Yolese proclaimed that a new, collective republic is to be formed.

A constitutional convention, ending in the Constitution's signing in 150 TT, established a republic with jurisdiction of all of Kelelemi. The President of the Collective Kelelemi Republic would preside over the country for terms of five years, while the Parliament would be elected by district-based, proportional representation. The democratic right was not freely given to everyone, however, as the constitution had written that only "once it is shown that the Sorewa may in responsibility and moderation participate in this shared republic, the Parliament may by constitutional act afford them the voting rights privileges reserved for the other races." The Sorewa would be only given voting powers should the Parliament achieve a two-thirds majority, something that would not happen for as long as the constitution remained in power.

In 37 TT, following riots from the Sorewa population brought on by military action against them, the Parliament of Kelelemi would change the electoral rules. While there was no constitutional majority to be found in the divided parliament at the time, the collectivist government passed a measure giving half a vote to every Sorewa with at least one Sawaji or Kawakian parent. The constitutional court would find that although the Sorewa could not be given voting rights, the part of them that was not Sorewa could be treated as legally separate. While this quelled tensions somewhat, sentiments remained bitter, and many half-Sorewans refused to end their fight. The establishment of the Sorewan Advancement Movement led to the Sorewa holding on to a small minority in Parliament, though they remained powerless to change the nation's systemic issues. The largely rural Sorewa population remained under oppression, though tensions continued to boil until they finally burst following the Calming.

The following is the composition of the Parliament of Kelelemi following the election of 7 PC. The 7% electoral threshold narrowly prevented the centrist New Foundations party from entering Parliament. A coalition between the nationalists and the conservatives was forged, with Adama Hadetono of the Republican Party elected Prime Minister following coalition talks with Our Nation. Unbeknownst to the coalition at the time, the Calming would soon sweep Kelelemi, opening it up to the world. Our Nation would hold end up holding most ministerial offices. The nationalists' presence in the government has been attributed the perpetuation of violence and barbarous acts against the Sorewa people in the ensuing Civil War, which had by this point been brewing.

Party Seats Ideology Votes (Counted) Votes (Actual) Percentage Percentage (Actual)
Sorewan Advancement Movement 15 Sorewan rights 92,287 168,721 7.3% 12.0%
Working Party of Progress 27 Proto-Laborism 155,266 175,918 12.4% 12.5%
Collective Development Alliance 50 Collectivism 293,280.5 340,111 23.3% 24.2%
Republican Party 41 Kawakian conservatism 240,526 247,222 19.2% 17.5%
Our Nation 67 Kawakian nationalism 391,041.5 391,042 31.1% 27.8%
New Foundations 0 Centrist 83,592 85,001 6.7% 6.0%
Total 200 1,255,992 1,408,015 100.0% 100.0%

Provisional Kelelemi Republic

In 27 PC, 13 years after hostilities have ended between the CKR and the SLU, martial law was fully suspended and elections were held for the first time in the new post-war consensus. By international agreement, enforced by the Akuta Pact at the time, the Sorewa were given full legal rights, requiring the elections to be free and fair for voters and candidates, regardless of ethnicity. However, as most of the Sorewan population had been subsumed or fled to the Republic of Sorewi during the war, the Sorewan vote failed to cross the high 7% threshold that was set for entry into parliament. A court order following the election required the electoral threshold to be abolished, and new elections to be held without it. The district system was also abolished, making the elections fully national. The consequences of this would eventually culminate in an increasingly fragmented and dysfunctional political system, with established parties.

The collectivist National Union and the conservative New Republicans would win the first election, forming a coalition between them. Our Nation, the nationalist party of power during the Civil War, would rise up back in the polls, eventually forming the "Big Three" of Kelelemi politics alongside with the former two. For the duration of the republic, every single government involved at least two of the parties. In 68 PC, the three parties would for the first time join in a grand coalition amid further political fragmentation, in part caused by a multitude of corruption scandals members and leaders of all three parties found themselves in. The lack of legal enforcement of binding treaties from the Provisional Government contributed to the issue. The discovery of ties between the government and the Qoeul-bo Hrnad would lead to the complete deterioration of the last remains of institutional trust, and sharp rise of the Sarkist For Our People party.

The following is the composition of the last Parliament of Kelelemi, elected in 75 PC during a state of national turmoil. 11 parties were elected, with only one managing to cross 20% of the vote. The Sarkist Kede Chebeyoni of the ultranationalist For Our People party would be elected Prime Minister, with the support of four different parties in Parliament. Of these, only the Imp Cult would not join the coalition, though it promised to provide support in the nomination vote. O would state that he approved of the policy of "putting everyone in their place", as everyone had a role to fulfill. Chebeyoni would be sworn in with a margin of 104-96 votes, with two additional members of Parliament from the Clean House party voting in his favor.

Party Seats Ideology Votes Percentage
Vebe 26 Modhesianism 98,299 13.1%
Orange Future 10 Pro-Spyronian 36,772 4.9%
Power to the People 21 Radical reform 78,038 10.4%
Sorewan Party of Rights 4 Sorewan interests 15,017 2.0%
Independent Party of Sawaji 6 Sawaji interests 24,109 3.2%
Imp Cult 9 Bein' little freaks 36,139 4.8%
Clean House 14 Anti-corruption 54,208 7.2%
National Union 16 Collectivism 62,490 8.3%
New Republicans 12 Kawakian conservatism 44,421 5.9%
Our Nation 38 Kawakian nationalism 143,803 19.1%
For Our People 43 Sarkism 158,862 21.1%
Total 200 752,108 100.0%