House of Assembly (Malpok)
House of Assembly | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | Lower House |
| History | |
| Founded | 15 November 2022 |
| Leadership | |
Speaker | Vacant |
Vacant | |
Leader of the Opposition | Vacant |
| Elections | |
| First Past the Post | |
| Meeting place | |
| Port Volas | |
The House of Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Malpok.
The house of assembly is an elected body made up of members known as Members of Parliament (MPs). MPs are elected by the First Past the Post System, representing constituencies and hold their seats until parliament is dissolved.
The government is accountable to the house and the Prime Minister is typically required to maintain the support of the house.
Role
Relationship with His Majesty's Government
Although the House of Assembly does not elect the prime minister, by convention and in practice, the prime minister is answerable to the House, and therefore must maintain its 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, typically the leader of the largest party in the house while the leader of the second-largest party becomes the Leader of the Opposition.
Peers as Ministers
By convention, ministers are members of either the House of Assembly or the House of Lords. Few cabinet offices are typically held by peers, but peers can be appointed ministers if they were a member of the house of lords.
Scrutiny of Government
The house scrutinises the government through things such as Prime Minister's Questions, where members of parliament have a chance to ask the prime minister questions about topical issues.
As well as this, with the confidence of the monarch, committees can form to specialise and scrutinise specific government departments.
Legislative Functions
Bills may be introduced to either house but most significant bills are proposed in the house of assembly where the first half of the legislative process begins, reviewind, debating and developing the proposed bills.
Members and Elections
Qualifications
To be a Member of the House of Assembly one must meet certain requirements:
- Minimum Age of 16
- Citizen of the Kingdom
- Not a Malpokian Police Officer
- Not an Active Duty Member of the National Armed Forces
- Mentally Sound
- Not Charged with Treason or High Treason
Procedure
Typically the house meets three to four days a week, but can meet more regularly during times of national emergency. Sittings of the house are open to the public, but the house may at any time vote to sit in private.
At the start of each parliamentary session the monarch makes a statement to a joint session of parliament known as the state opening of parliament.
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.
Officers
The chief officer is the Speaker of the House who presides over the house, keeps order and maintains debate. During debates the house speaker outranks the Prime Minister and all other members of government. The house speaker is also permitted to remove MPs who break rules during debate for a set amount of time.