Government and politics of Saridan

The People's Council of Saridan (Duntrekaans: Volksraad) is the unicamerial national legislature in the Republic of Saridan it was named by after the leader of the first Duntrekker Trek Piet van Merwerzuider who settled his people in Saridan in 1790.

Members of the Volksraad are elected on a proportional representational system in the separate provinces of Saridan in a franchise system based on property and wage qualifications. Members of the Volksraad are known as "Councilors" (Raadslede; sing. Raadslid) and the title is used in front of their names to notify those of their status as a member of the national legislature; election to the People's Council has qualifications and restrictions to it, they are outlined below.

Elections and Campaigns
As established in the Constitution Republic of Saridan a member of the national legislature must at least (1)...attained twenty-three years of age (2) ...have no national, provincial or lower level crimes attached to their record (3)...must be a natural born Saridan citizen. (4)...must have resided in the country for 10 years (5)...must have resided in district of election for a minimum of two years (6)...must be in good mental health (7) ...must have met all property and wage qualifications.

Given the nature of the people of Saridan, being elected to the People's Council is considered one of the highest honors a Saridaner can attain. Because the position holds many legal and honorary privileges the elected Councilors do not receive any salary whatsoever but they do receive acommadations and other benefits for themselves and their families. These benefits and acommadations end immediately upon leaving the office. No term limits exist seeing and the turnover for candidates tends to remain low, ensuring stability, an attribute greatly appreciated by Saridaners.

Leadership
The Volksraad has no independent leader. Instead, the elected Staatspresident of Saridan serves as a Chairman. Because of this structure, there are times when the Staatspresident is dominated by one political party while the Volksraad is dominated by another. While this may cause friction, the nature of Saridaners toward political cooperation often tends to lead to bipartisanism.