>>3203My main objection with a bicameral parliament of this nature is, firstly, that no party is likely to attain a majority and, secondly, it gives too much power to this ruling power with the others having substantially less representation.
>>3183I appreciate your ideas but they are too simplistic. I hope you recover soon.
Distinguished Ministers of Parliament:
As the founder of the
Property and Freedom Party I hereby retake the reigns as its President. The position of Vice President is open for an active and loyal member, preferably with a timezone in the Americas or Europe.
After extensive private deliberation and refinement the
PFP proposes two different modifications to its original proposal for election reform:
1) The /mlpol/ Parliament adopts picture #1 as its electoral map, with one seat representing one district on the map. By coincidence when drafting the map there arose twenty-four districts; therefore, a simple modification by merging two districts would match it with our current house. Of course, this means that we must maintain merely 23 seats. Alternatively, we could adopt the U.S. Senate structure and let one district maintain two seats each. Geography would be rendered less relevant due to this comparatively centralized system.
In the form of voting, the electoral process would be proportional as votes would be tallied up and allocated according to percentage. All members would have only one vote and voting would take place on Sunday. As actual seats could not be well-allocated, the President and Vice-President of each party would represent voters directly and allocate their seats in support or opposition of each proposed bill. A majority of votes is needed to pass a bill.
Standing coalitions would be permitted.
2) The /mlpol/ Parliament adopts picture #2 as its electoral map, with each district containing a different number of seats (signified by number of hakenkreuz). According to the proposed map, which roughly distributes seats according to population distribution, the Parliament would grow to 57 seats. Each province, containing three to five districts, would have a limited amount of autonomy.
The voting process would be as such: on Saturday, preceding the voting on Sunday, an anon would announce candidacy in a province and/or assign up to three votes in one or more provinces (the three votes are cumulative across the whole map). Candidacy means simply managing for one’s party whatever seats it has in a particular province and is exclusive to one member of that party; if necessary, the party President has the authority to remove that Anon (who must name himself as the province candidate) and invest another in his place. After voting, the votes for each party in that particular province are tallied and distributed proportionally. Each party gets a number of seats within the province according to the closest ratio to the original. The candidate now has authority over these seats to use within Parliament. District geography within the region is irrelevant (though, one should be able to request specific districts; I imagine the National Bolsheviks may want Stalliongrad for themselves).
Let’s have a practical example: suppose the founder of the April First Party is running within the Canterlot (or Capital) Region and the founder of the Epona Cult is doing the same. It is a tough race for both, as while other members of these parties are running in other provinces, they also send votes to help their presidents. By the end of voting, the AFP has 10 votes, the EC has 7, and the Veterans’ Party (which was diverting its resources elsewhere) has 1. The President of Parliament, according to the percentages, gives the AFP 6 seats, EC 4 seats, and the Veterans’ Party none. On the map, this may show as Canterlot having two black swastikas, Ponyville having one, Cloudsdale having two, and Crystal Empire having one; the rest are brown. The AFP president now can use six seats directly in Parliament and has
de jure control over the Capital Region, with the EC leader the minority leader. Other results pan out across each province and the various seats would be controlled by different party members.
We would have a President of Parliament to convene and adjourn sessions, keep proceedings in order, distribute seats after voting, and ensure fair and honest elections. If he is considered unsatisfactory, any party president can challenge him and an impeachment vote will commence; if two thirds of seats vote (YAY) he will be removed and another will be voted in. In regular sessions, a majority of votes is required to pass a bill.
Standing coalitions would be permitted.
Discussion, criticism, and counter-proposals are welcome and encouraged. We desire a compromise solution that will benefit /mlpol/ as a whole, but our Parliament must remain federalized, unicameral, and with some measure of checks and balances that reward strategy while giving small parties a chance.