Parliament of the Esterlands
Esterlandian Folkthing Parliamentary House | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | Parliamentary House |
| Leadership | |
Head of Parliament | Aidan Hilton, LPMB Party since January 2012 |
Leader of the Opposition | George Reynolds, Esterlords Party since January 2012 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 52 50 Elected Seats 2 Ceremonial Seats |
 | |
Parliamentary House political groups | LPMB Party (22) Esterlords Party (17) TWHFIL Party (11) Independent (Ceremonial Seats) (2) |
| Elections | |
Parliamentary House last election | National Election, 2012 |
| Meeting place | |
| The Council Chamber, Colchester | |
The Esterlandian Folkthing Parliamentary House (or the Esterlandian Parliament, or simply Parliament) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of the Esterlands. The official Head of Parliament is the Prime Minister, and it is his legal obligation to be responsible for opening Parliament in the first week of every month during his term in Government.
There are 50 seats allocated to parties by a specially-designed version of proportional representation. The number of seats awarded is respective to the percentage of the vote obtained in the annual National Elections. There are an additional 2 seats in Parliament, with 1 each automatically given, by tradition, to the President & Lord High General.
Any Seated Parliamentary may propose a motion, and all motions are consequently voted upon in Parliament. To be passed into law, a simple majority is required, though in the unlikely case of a deadlock 50:50 vote, the outcome it is at the discretion of the President & Lord High General (though in such a case they would normally be expected to go with the decision of the Prime Minister).
While the official meeting place of the Esterlandian Parliament is the Council Chamber in the City of Colchester, most sessions of Parliament are held at alternate locations. For ceremonial purposes, Parliament is actually assembled once a year at the Council Chamber, at the Mid-Term Parliamentary Session (half way through a government's annual term in power). The reason that this occurs only once per year is as a result of practicality and cost, as organising Parliament at the Council Chamber requires considerable time and effort, as well as a minimum outlay of 50 000 Crowns to cover the cost of the event.