Advisory Council

Advisory Council
Type	Unicameral council with right of legislative veto
Elections
Latest term started	7-3 73 PC
Length of term	2 years
Term limits	None
Next Election	7-3 75 PC
Structure
Seats	5
Political groups	•   Isola (3) •   Mare (2)

The current composition of the Advisory Council. Blue denotes city-provinces won by candidates of Mare, while red shows those won by Isola. Teal shows victories made by Modhesian candidates. Tolia, already held by Dux Alessandro Spadi, is shown in white.

The Advisory Council is a chamber of government in the Republic of La Rossa. It is composed of five members, each hailing from a city-province not directly represented by the Dux. Although its decisions are usually non-binding, criticism from the Council has long been taken as a warning sign that the end is near for unpopular Duxes. A 3/5ths vote, representing a majority of Advisors, is able to halt a Dux's decree, preventing it from coming into power. In that, it differs from legislatures around the island, having no power to make laws itself, only to prevent them. After the island of La Rossa joined the IgRS, Dux-aligned Advisors have seen an increased role as representatives to the international community. Prior to 69 PC, a 4/5ths majority was required to halt a decree from becoming law.

Formed for the first time in 106 TT, after the short-lived chaos of the Spirit Revolution, Council elections have typically been held across the nation one month after the crowning of the Dux. The reign of Dux Falcone in the years following La Denunzia was the only period since the Council's inception in which Advisors were appointed, instead of being directly elected.

In addition to being able to halt unpopular decrees, Advisors tend to see an important role in their own local governments. Although the governments of the city-provinces vary in their structure, owing to their own regional identities, all tend to include the locally-elected Advisor to some extent. The government of Tolia, for instance, gives complete, absolute power to the local Advisor, checked only by the Dux, while the local governance of Salino sees power split between the Advisor and the local Council. In Padeno, the Advisor's role tends to be most ceremonial, with executive decisions bound by the local legislature. On the other hand, the role of the Advisor of Padeno on a national level is among the most powerful, representing the most populous city-province.

Members

The last elections for the Advisory Council were held on 7-3 69 PC across all of the nation's city-provinces, excluding Tolia. The elected Council has shown significant opposition to the reigining Dux, Alessandro Spadi. Due to the Council's role and structure, it makes little sense to speak of Council majorities and minorities, as only a vast and unlikely 4/5ths majority is capable of meaningfully affecting the Dux's lawmaking. Due to the Council's split positions and the Dux's independent streak, blocking majorities are unlikely to form.

City-Province	Advisor	Party	First Elected	Votes	Votes (%)
Lorma	Vilberto Trattini	Mare	72 PC (appointed)	108,575	45.3%
Mineria	Stefano Robusto	Isola	73 PC	289,299	48.6%
Padeno	Gianfranco Sanini	Isola	65 PC	571,012	47.4%
Salino	Iolanda Marpecci	Mare	71 PC	510,192	50.9%
Tolia	Tammaro Traffi	Isola	73 PC	221,251	43.4%

Qualifications

Any person over the age of 16 that is a citizen of the city-province in which they wish to run is allowed to nominate themselves for office, and any such nomination is required to be accepted if a petition with a thousand signatories is presented. Apart from the petition requirement, the requirements necessary for qualification have not differed for those surrounding voting rights. Prior to La Denunzia, Advisory positions were restricted to only men of age possessing property. Although La Rossa has no legal concept of citizenship, even after the Second Calming, Rossan officials are required to ask for proof of residence within the city-province of candidacy for the nomination to be accepted. Following 63 PC guidelines, residence of at least four years is required for a candidacy to be accepted.

Elections

Elections for the Advisory Council are held every two years, one month after the ceremonial crowning of the Dux. Although they are organized locally in each of the city-provinces, all regional election commissions are required to follow a set of national guidelines, ensuring that the elections are free and fair, and that no citizen that is of age is prohibited from casting a ballot. Following 63 PC guidelines, at least four years of residence are required for a vote to be cast. The winner is decided by a simple plurality vote, with the candidate with the highest share of the vote taking the seat. Although multiple candidates are allowed to nominate themselves, Rossan politics have seen a trend towards having only two major candidates in any of the city-provinces.

Meetings

It has traditionally been rare for all five members of the Advisory Council to meet together in the same building, owing to the island's terrain and the city-provinces' decentralized nature. Meetings, when they occurred, typically revolved little around political duties, and were mostly scheduled around ceremonies. Meetings between individual Advisors, however, remained common, as did meetings between the Advisors and the Dux. To ensure a constant line of access between the Dux and the Advisors, telegraphs were utilized since early into the Advisory Council's existence to quickly spread news of new decrees, as well as Advisory disagreements, and eventual vetoes. Since the invention and adoption of the radio, communication has become even quicker, and discussion over new decrees ever easier.