Grand Parlor

Grand Parlor
*Grande Parlatório*
Grand Parlor ; Grande Parlatório
5th Parlor
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	House of Aristocrats; House of Councillors
Term limits	1 year
History
Founded	March 8, 2021
Leadership
Monarch	Arthur II
Lord Speaker	The Duchess of Guterfolg ; since 5 December 2022
Speaker of the Councillors	Wellington Muniz, ND ; since 30 July 2023
Chancellor	Bernardo Barcelos, ND ; since 30 July 2023
Leader of the Opposition	Henri Sãens, PN ; since 30 July 2023
Structure
Seats	Aristocrats: 8; Councillors: 16
House of Aristocrats political groups	Non-partisan (8); (House members are required to be non-partisan in the exercise of their function)
House of Councillors political groups	Government (8): New Democrats (7); Opposition (5): National Party (5); Other groups (3): Swedish Party (3); Undefined (1);
Elections
House of Aristocrats voting system	Appointment by the Monarch
House of Councillors voting system	First-past-the-post
House of Councillors last election	30 July 2023
House of Councillors next election	30 July 2024
Meeting place
	Malmünd

The Grand Parlor (Portuguese: Grande Parlatório), often simply referred as The Parliament, is the supreme legislative body of the Kingdom of Ebenthal. The Grand Parlor is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the House of Councillors, an elected lower chamber, and the House of Aristocrats, the parliament's upper chamber whose members are appointed from the nobility at the Sovereign's discretion. Members of both chambers serve one-year terms. The political party or party coalition that controls the majority of seats in the lower chamber chooses the national executive for the country, the Chancellor, whom, by constitutional convention, is also a member of parliament. Nevertheless, there were cases in which the Chancellor (formerly called the Prime Minister) was chosen from among the members of the upper house. The Chancellor and his cabinet are thereby accountable to the parliament, so that their position depends on maintaining the confidence of the legislative chambers, otherwise they may be removed.

The Grand Parlor was officialy innaugurated in 8 March 2021, under the Hunsrik name Konkrëse, in substitution to Ebenthal's former unicameral parliament called College of Peers of the Realm, which had been active since the country's independence (initially called Conclave) and underwent a reformation in October 2020.^[1] There are no limits on the number of political parties that can participate in parliament, provided they are duly registered. On 17 September 2023 a new reform took place, drastically reducing the number of members of the upper chamber and including new requirements for membership in the lower chamber, as well as giving parliament its current name.

Etymology

The word Konkrëse comes from the Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, a Brazilian-originated German dialect, translating to "Congress", or "Congresso" in Portuguese. It is similar to he original German word "Kongress", but it actually evolved from the Portuguese word phonetics as a "germanization" (Brazilians spell the word konkrëse more similarly to the word congresso than to the word kongress, mainly because of the last vowel).

Legislative functions

The Grand Parlor perform powers on the legislative sphere. It enact laws, amends the constitution (this one requires a majority of two-thirds), holds the power to dismiss a government through a vote of no confidence (under the monarch's sanction), to authorize the government to apply or exempt taxes, take and grant loans and to deal in trade and commerce, to ratify treaties and other kinds of international agreements (with very few exceptions), to deal with conciliation and arbitration when required, to legislate on immigration and citizenship, tor recognize the throne's heir and to legislate in matters regarding the military institution. The Grand Parlor also creates and appoints members of special comissions and committees.

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 the provinces and especial regions of Ebenthal, although it is more commonly introduced by the parliamentary chambers only. The Lord President or the President of the Councillors, depending on the chamber a bill is introduced, read the proposed bill and puts it up to voting by their respective chambers. If a bill is approved in the upper chamber, it is immediatly sent to the King's office for his royal assent or veto; if it is approved in the lower chamber, then it goes to the upper chamber to be voted there, with a few exceptions which may be directly sent to the King's office. If a bill fails, in both chambers, it can be voted on again in the next session; if the second vote is approved, it follows normal procedures; if it is rejected again, the bill is shelved and can only be revived after a month. If a bill approved in the lower house is rejected in the upper chamber, then it is returned to the lower house and submitted to changes, so it must be voted and approved there again to be sent to the upper chamber for their judgement.

The King possesses constitutional power to sanction and veto any parliamentary decision at his will regardless of whether they were approved by the majority or not.

Composition

House of Aristocrats

The House of Aristocrats is made up of as many members as half the number of members of the House of Councilors. They are appointed at the Sovereign's discretion among the members of the nobility of Ebenthal to serve one-year terms. Unlike in the lower chamber, members of the House of Aristocrats do not represent constituencies or political parties. If a member of the house dies or relinquished his title, Provided that there is a willing heir, he assumes the position of the deceased for the remainder of the term of office. The presiding officer of the House of Aristocrats, called Lord Speaker, is appointed by the Sovereign from among the members of the house. In turn, the Lord Speaker appoints his deputy, the Vice Lord Speaker, often simply called Vice Lord. By convention, the Monarch appoints as Lord Speaker a noble with ties to the majority party in the House of Councilors or after consultation with the Chancellor.

House of Councillors

The House of Councillors is formed by an unspecified amount of members elected in proportional representation through universal suffrage. The proportionality system adopted in Ebenthal defines that one member of the Councillors is elected for every 10 inhabitants. In cases where the province or autonomous region has fewer than 10 inhabitants, it also elects one member of the house. 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 of the House of Councillors represent constituencies corresponding to the country's provinces and special regions and political parties. They serve one-year terms, with unlimited possibility of re-elections. Members of the party or coalition with the most seats appoint the Chancellor, who by convention is a member of parliament, mainly of the House of Councillors, although this is not a constitutional requirement. The Chancellor, in turn, appoints the presiding officer of the house, the Speaker of the House, who appoints its Deputy Speaker.

Parties

The table below lists parties currently represented in the Grand Parlor.

Name			Ideologies	Leader	Current seats
Name			Ideologies	Leader
	PN	National Party Partido Nacional	Conservatism	Francisco Arrais	5 / 15
	ND	New Democrats Novos Democratas	Centrism	The Duchess of Guterfolg	7 / 15
	PS	Swedish Party Svenska Partiet	Social democracy	The Baron of Sommerlath	3 / 15

Seats

Aristocrats

Appointed MP		State	Took office	Seat #	Notes
Appointed
The Marquis of Rozandir	Non-partisan	Ebenthal	2 February 2020	1	Vice Lord Speaker
The Count of Lyns	Non-partisan	Ebenthal	5 March 2019	2
The Count of Grzebuła	Non-partisan	Ebenthal	14 August 2022	3
The Count of Goethe	Non-partisan	Ebenthal	13 October 2022	4
The Count of Ivrea	Non-partisan	Ebenthal	28 February 2020	5
The Duchess of Guterfolg	Non-partisan	Ebenthal	31 December 2019	6	Lady Speaker
The Countess of Barcelos	Non-partisan	Ebenthal	10 March 2021	7
The Count of Aldringen	Non-partisan	Ebenthal	14 August 2022	8

Councillors

Elected MP		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	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