House of Councillors (Ebenthal)
| House of Councillors Câmara dos Conselheiros | |
|---|---|
| 5th Parlor | |
.svg) | |
| Type | |
| Type | Lower House of the Konkrëse |
Term limits | 1 year |
| History | |
| Founded | 8 March 2021 |
| Leadership | |
Wellington Muniz, ND | |
Deputy Speaker | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 16 |
Political groups | Government (8):
Opposition (5):
Other groups (3):
|
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
Last election | 30 July 2023 |
Next election | 30 July 2024 |
| Meeting place | |
| Raych Halle, Malmünd | |
The House of Councillors (Portuguese: Câmara dos Conselheiros) is the lower house of the Grand Parlor, the parliament of Ebenthal. Membership is by free elections through universal suffrage and its members serve one-year terms with unlimited possibility of re-election. The House of Councillors does not have a fixed number of seats; each constituency elects one member for every ten permanent inhabitants. Currently the House has 16 seats. Its members can be both commoners and nobles, are encouraged but not necessarily required to affiliate with a political party, and are democratically elected through the first -past-the-post system. Under the Parliament Act 2023, the Chancellor of Ebenthal is chosen from among those members of the party or coalition who have a majority in the lower house, although on rare occasions, if the government fails to come up with an acceptable nomination, the Prime Minister can be appointed from among the members of the upper house.
The House of Councillors's power to enact laws depends on the House of Aristocrats evaluation of the bills approved in the lower house, except in limited circunstances. Despite this, the house has autonomy to create bills and analyze projects proposed even by the monarch and to report to him, both by parliamentary audience and through the Chancellor, whose position and cabinet depends on the confidence of the lower house.
Origin
The House of Councillors was inspired by the British House of Commons, although much more simplified and in parts similar to Brazil's formely monarchical Chamber of Deputies. Its name, however, was a challenge to be decided, as the lower house's officeholders's name title. The ideia of Councillor came following a deep study of other countries' parliaments and the similarity it evokes to the Portuguese councilmen and counselors, respectively members of a municipal chamber and to a privy council. The name, furthermore, coincides with that of the former Japanese House of Councillors, which served as a confirmation for the name's decision.
The creation of the house was proposed by Lady Gabriela Amorim, 1st Duchess of Guterfolg, through the Bicameral Act and the name was ventured by Lord Raphael Sousa, 1st Duke of Aureanburgh. The project of the lower house was approved exactly as proposed by the leader of the Worker's Party.
Functions
According the Constitution of Ebenthal's 6th ammendment, the Councillors exerce the exclusive functions of chose the Prime Minister, to call for a referendum and to cast a vote of no confidence to the ministerial cabinet, plus the common functions of deal with taxation and loans, trade and commerce (only regarding the Central Government), to deal with conciliation and arbitration when required, to legislate on matter regarding the country's institutions, infrastructure and rules, to legislate on currency, coinage, and legal tender, on immigration and citizenship, among other things.
Procedure
A legislative bill can be formally introduced by any member of both legislative houses, as well as by the Sovereign and the rulers of Ebenthal's provinces, although it is more commonly introduced by the parliamentary houses themselves. The Councillor Speaker read the proposed bill and puts it up to voting. If the proposed bill is approved, it is immediatly sent to the House of Aristocrats for their scrutiny; if they approve, it is sent to the King's cabinet for royal assent or veto. If the Aristocrats reject the Councillors bill, the bill is returned to the lower house and submitted to amends in order to be sent to the Aristocrats again (nonetheless the Aristocrats can amend a bill if they feel fit and submit it to the King's assent without the consent of the Councillors). If a bill fails, it may be debated and voted again in a next session; if it fails again, then the bill is shelved and can only be revived after a month.
Composition and seats
The House of Councillors is formed by an unspecified amount of members elected in proportional representation, that is, each province elects as many councilors as it has inhabitants. In Ebenthal, for every ten permanent residents, one councilor is elected (the same applies if the province has less than ten residents). The election takes place through the first-past-the-post system in which each citizen votes for only one candidate, and the candidate who receives the most votes wins. Members, often called Councillors of Members of the House of Councillors, represent constituencies corresponding to the country's provinces and their lenght of term is that of 1 year, with possibility of unlimited re-election. Members of the party or coalition with the most seats appoint the Prime Minister, who in turn appoints the Councillor Speaker, who in turn appoints the Deputy Speaker.
Members
| Elected MP | Party | Province | Took office | Seat # | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elected | ||||||||
| Raphael Sousa | New Democrats |  Erzfelsen
|
8 March 2021 | 1 | ||||
| Wellington Muniz | New Democrats |  Malmünd
|
8 March 2021 | 2 | Speaker of the House | |||
| Bernardo Barcelos | New Democrats |  Bauerai
|
8 September 2021 | 3 | ex officio Chancellor | |||
| Thiago Walker | New Democrats | Malmünd
|
12 October 2022 | 4 | ||||
| Rodrigo Falcão | New Democrats | Erzfelsen
|
12 October 2022 | 5 | ||||
| Daniel Vilela | New Democrats | Erzfelsen
|
12 October 2022 | 6 | ||||
| Nícollas Reis | New Democrats | Malmünd
|
12 October 2022 | 7 | Deputy Speaker | |||
| Eric de Pádua | National Party | Bauerai
|
8 March 2021 | 8 | ||||
| Henri Sãens | National Party |  Wäitfeld
|
8 September 2021 | 9 | Leader of the Opposition | |||
| Hans Scherer | National Party | .png){kind=small} New Switzerland
|
12 October 2022 | 10 | ||||
| Francisco Arrais | National Party | New Switzerland
|
8 March 2021 | 11 | ||||
| Gabriel Carvalho | National Party |  Schwarzberg
|
12 October 2022 | 12 | ||||
| Oskar Andersen | Swedish Party |  Nëbensee
|
30 July 2023 | 13 | ||||
| Rupert Ruschel | Swedish Party |  Grünhufe
|
30 July 2023 | 14 | ||||
| Lukas Degermark | Swedish Party | Wäitfeld
|
30 July 2023 | 15 | ||||
