November 9th Committee

Democratic People's Republic of Erusia
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Democratic People's Republic of Erusia
Government Central People's Government
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The November 9th Committee (N9C), officially known as the Central Political and Legislative Affairs Committee (CPLAC) and commonly referred to as the Parliamentary Communist Party, is one of the five principle national organs of the Erusian National Communist Party and - especially in recent times - one of the most powerful political bodies within the Communist Party. Named in honour of the revolution that brought the ENCP to power in 2008, the November 9th Committee is comprised of all of the Party's current members of the National People's Assembly, who's membership on the Committee is conditional to them both holding their seat and remaining under the Party whip (though resigning the whip would ultimately lead to expulsion from the Party regardless). In addition to sitting legislators, past and present General Secretaries of the Central Committee - the Communist Party's executive leadership and policy-making body - are entitled to lifetime membership on the Committee from the beginning of their term. As such, both Robert Lethler and Kai Roosevelt enjoy status as permanent sitting members, even though the latter is not an Assembly Member.

Unlike the other four organs of central Party authority, the parliamentary party functions largely independently of the normal organisational and political hierarchy of the Party. It does not meet regularly, and indeed has very little actual power - the Party Constitution only provides for the existence of the institution and not for any of its functions or powers. It serves chiefly as a platform by which Assembly Members can coordinate their efforts and confidentially talk with one another outside of the normal Party apparatus, and also as a means by which AMs can express their feelings on various items of government policy. If the government intends to push a contentious piece of legislation through the Assembly, it is customary for the bill to go through the parliamentary party after being approved by the Central Committee in order to build consensus on the issue and prevent a potentially humiliating rebellion from the Communist Party's benches (though this has not always been avoidable).

Though it has existed under various names since the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Erusia, the Committee only began to assume an active and important role in Erusian politics from August 2009, when the Communist Party established the United Front Work Department to coordinate its legislative efforts and strengthen coalition ties. The UFWD serves as the de facto executive of the N9C, and it's Director has served simultaneously as the Committee's Chairperson since February 2010, when the N9C was enshrined in the Party Constitution at it's 5th National Congress in Erus City. As such, the current Chairwoman of the N9C is Melissa Anderson, who is recognised as the majority Leader of the Assembly thanks to this posting. Prior to this, the Committee was chaired by the incumbent Premier.

Increasingly, the November 9th Committee has become an important political force in Erusian politics, even though it has very little hard power. At the beginning of 2010, the longest-serving member of the parliamentary party - Carwyn Jenkins - sparked a leadership election in an effort to oust the increasingly unpopular Robert Lethler from his position as General Secretary. Though Jenkins himself was ultimately unsuccessful in winning the leadership and was eliminated on the second ballot, Lethler's inability to win the support of the parliamentary party effectively ended his career as the ENCP's leader, forcing him to withdraw from the contest instead of facing a humiliating defeat at the hands of the N9C's favourite Kai Roosevelt (who would go on to win the election by a sizeable majority).

Currently, half of the parliamentary party is comprised of women, a balance rarely seen in micro- or macronational counterparts.