House of Assembly (Albia)
House of Assembly | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | Lower House of Parliament of Albia |
| History | |
| Founded | 12 June 2022 |
| Leadership | |
Vacant | |
Vacant | |
| Seats | 13 (excluding the Speaker's Seat) |
| Constitution | |
| Constitution of Albia | |
The House of Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Albia.
The House of Assembly is an elected body consisting of members known as members of Parliament (MPs). MPs are elected to represent constituencies by the first-past-the-post system and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved. The government is typically responsible to the House of Assembly and the prime minister stays in office only as long as they retain the confidence of a majority of the house.
Role
Relationship to Government
Although the House of Assembly does not formally elect the prime minister, by convention and in practice, the prime minister is answerable to the House, and therefore must maintain the House's support. In this way, the position of the parties in the House is of overriding importance. Thus, whenever the office of prime minister falls vacant, the monarch appoints the person who has the support of the house, or who is most likely to command the support of the house — normally the leader of the largest party in the house.
Legislative Functions
Bills may be introduced in either house, though bills of importance generally originate in the House of Assembly. The House of Assembly then debates and votes on these bills. If they pass the House of Assembly they typically are sent to be voted on by the House of Lords. After approval from the House of Lords bills go to the Monarch of Albia for royal assent. With the issuance of royal assent the bill becomes law.
Membership
Qualifications
Membership in the House of Assembly is elected. To be eligible for a seat individuals seeking election should be 16 or older, be of sound mind and a full citizen of the Kingdom of Albia.
Anyone found guilty of high treason may not sit in Parliament unless they have received a full pardon from the Crown. As well as this, if someone has been deemed not to be of good moral character they may be ineligible for election.
Structure
There are a total of 14 seats in the House of Assembly. 13 seats are for constituents and 1 seat is reserved for the Speaker of the House. To form a government a party requires at least 7 seats in the House of Assembly.
Procedure
Members of Government in the house typically stay to the speaker's right, whereas the opposition typically stay to the speaker's left.
Each term, the parliamentary session begins with the State Opening of Parliament, a ceremony in the Lords Chamber during which the Sovereign, in the presence of Members of both Houses, delivers an address outlining the Government's legislative agenda for the term.
During debates, Members may speak only if called upon by the Speaker (or a Deputy Speaker, if the Speaker is not presiding). Traditionally, the presiding officer alternates between calling Members from the Government and Opposition. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and other leaders from both sides are normally given priority. Speeches are addressed to the presiding officer, using the words "Mr Speaker", "Madam Speaker", "Mr Deputy Speaker", or "Madam Deputy Speaker". Only the presiding officer may be directly addressed in debate; other members must be referred to in the third person. Traditionally, members do not refer to each other by name, but by constituency, using forms such as "the Honourable Member for [constituency]", or, in the case of Privy Counsellors, "the Right Honourable Member for [constituency]". Members of the same party (or allied parties or groups)[32] refer to each other as "my (Right) Honourable friend".