Parliament of Rutania

The Parliament of Rutania is a unicameral legislature of the federal government of Rutania that meets in the National Parliament Building in Port Nelson. Representatives are chosen through direct election. Each of the 599 members of the Parliament represents a district and serve a four-year term. Seats are apportioned among the 5 provinces by population.

=History=

=Powers=

Checks & Balances
=Legislative Term= The parliament meets year round and at times, members are able to take breaks when legislation is not being debated/voted on. A term of parliaments divided into two sessions; one lasts for 2 years. A Session is essentially when the Parliament meets to debate and vote on laws. A new session begins on June 30 and ends two years later on June 30. The current parliament is the 50th Parliament of Rutania.

=Composition= The parliament is a unicameral legislature with a total of 599 members that represent all 5 provinces of Rutania. Elections for the Parliament are every 4 years and members are not subject to term limits. In order to fill all 599 seats, each of the 5 provinces are divided into congressional districts based upon population; the larger the province, the more representation it receives in the parliament.

=Officers= The party with a majority of seats in the Assembly is known as the majority party. The next-largest party is the minority party. The Speaker, committee chairs, and some other officials are required to be from the majority party; they have counterparts (for instance, the "ranking members" of committees) in the minority party.

Speaker of the Parliament
The Speaker is the presiding officer of the Parliament. The duties and powers of the Speaker are defined by the rules and customs of the Parliament. Speakers have a role both as a leader of the Parliament and the leader of their party. As the presiding officer of the Parliament, the speaker generally presides over debate though not every debate. In some cases, he or she delegates the responsibility of presiding to other members.

The presiding officer sits in a chair in the front of the chamber. The powers of the presiding officer are extensive; one important power is that of controlling the order in which members may speak. No member may make a speech or a motion unless he or she has first been recognized by the presiding officer. Speakers serve as the chair of their party's delegation committee, which is responsible for assigning party members to Assembly committees including the chairs of the committee. The Speaker is not allowed to be a member on any committee as it may create a political conflict of interest.

Party Leaders
Party Leaders are elected by their respective parties in closed-door meetings by secret ballot and are also known as floor leaders. Party leaders are responsible for organizing and setting their party's agenda in the Parliament. They also serve as the chief speaker, though not always, for their party in the Parliament.

=Membership=

Qualifications
A representative must be at least 21 years old and must be a citizen of Rutania for at least 5 years as well as a legal citizen. Members must be (at the time of the election) an inhabitant of the province they represent and must've lived in the district they wish to represent for at least 3 years.

Terms and Election
As per the Constitution, representatives are directly elected by the people and serve a term lasting no longer than four years and are not subject to any term limits. The Parliament has the power to formally censure or reprimand its members; censure or reprimand requires only a simple majority, but does not remove a member from office. The Parliament may impeach a member and this will require a 2/3 vote.

Elections for representatives are held every four years on August 10; the month will change based on the election schedule, but the date will not. Representatives are elected from single-member districts by plurality voting. Candidates for each district can be nominated in partisan primary elections, typically held in spring to late summer the year of the election. 5 of the 6 parties in the country, choose to forgo primaries and select their candidates internally.

Privileges
Members of enjoy the privilege of being free from arrest in all cases, except for treason, felony, and breach of the peace. This immunity applies to members during sessions and when traveling to and from sessions. However, there are rules restricting offensive speeches, and those caught suffer punishment such as a loss of pay or censure.

As of 3309, rank and file members of the parliament receive a yearly salary of 5,000 RUT. Party leaders are paid 5,300 RUT per year. The Speaker of the Parliament earns 5,500 RUT per year.

=Current Membership= ''' !colspan=6 align=center|3311 Elections ! colspan="4" rowspan="2" align="center" | Parties and Coalitions ! colspan="2" align="center" | Results ! width="75" | Votes ! width="30" | Seats ! align="center" colspan="3" | Liberal Alliance ! 29,820,079 !! 309 ! align="center" colspan="4" | Conservative Coalition ! 21,425,380 !! 270 ! align="center" colspan="4" | Independent ! 7,101,513 !! 73 ! align="center" colspan="4" | Total ! 58,346,972 !! 599
 * - bgcolor="#E9E9E9" align=center
 * bgcolor="pink" rowspan="4" |
 * bgcolor="FF0000" |
 * align="center" | Socialist Unity Party
 * align="center" | SUP
 * 12,448,479 || 130
 * bgcolor="#7E2217" |
 * Democratic Socialist Front
 * align="center" | DSF
 * 9,600,994 || 99
 * bgcolor="#FF8C00" |
 * Liberal Party of Rutania
 * align="center" | LPR
 * 7,770,606 || 80
 * - bgcolor="pink"
 * align="center" | LPR
 * 7,770,606 || 80
 * - bgcolor="pink"
 * - bgcolor="pink"
 * bgcolor="blue" rowspan="2" |
 * bgcolor="#FFFF00" |
 * align="center" | Libertarian Freedom Party
 * align="center" | LFP
 * 13,499,125 || 136
 * bgcolor="#00A6EF" |
 * Urban Party of Rutania
 * align="center" | UPR
 * 7,926,255 || 81
 * - bgcolor="blue"
 * 7,926,255 || 81
 * - bgcolor="blue"
 * bgcolor="lightgreen"|
 * bgcolor="#660000" |
 * Rutanian People's Party
 * align="center" | RPP
 * 7,101,513 || 73
 * - bgcolor="lightgreen"
 * - bgcolor="lightgreen"
 * - bgcolor="lightgreen"
 * colspan="6" bgcolor="#E9E9E9" |
 * colspan="6" bgcolor="#E9E9E9" |
 * }

=Links= Government of Rutania

Rutania