Government of Rutania

The Government of Rutania takes place under the framework of a semi-presidential federal republic based on the federal division of powers, consisting of three branches of government; executive, legislative, and judiciary.

=Executive= The Executive Branch in Rutania is co-led by both the President and the Prime Minister. Both positions have different functions and powers as a means to "check" one another to ensure no position becomes powerful than the other. However, when the positions are occupied by the same party, power seems to concentrate more in the President than the Prime Minister. The Cabinet is subordinate to and headed by the Prime Minister. The 12-member body is tasked with carrying out government policy passed by the legislature.

The President of Rutania is the head of state of Rutania and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Rutania. The president is the chief diplomat and executive of Rutania. The President is elected directly by the people and is not subject to any term limits. Since 3661, the one hundred and seventy-fourth and current President is Antoine-Simon d'Olérie.

The Prime Minister of Rutania is the head of government and the leader of the cabinet. The prime minister (and cabinet) is charged with ensuring laws are carried out. The Prime Minister is chosen when a cabinet is proposed in the Parliament and passed. Since 3661, the Prime Minister has been Derek Cunningham.

Current Administration
=Legislative=

The nation is supported by a 555 seat unicameral legislature known as the Parliament. The Parliament is directly elected based on a system of proportional representation every 4 years, or sooner if a motion for early election is passed and consists of 555 seats who are divided among 5 provinces based upon population. All of the 5 major parties in the country are eligible to hold seats.

Political Parties
=Judiciary=

In Rutania, the judiciary branch is tasked with interpreting and applying the law. This branch does this by hearing and eventually making decisions on various legal cases.

The Supreme Court of Rutania is the supreme court (court of last resort) for the country. It generally is an appellate court that operates under discretionary review; meaning that the Court, can choose which cases to hear. In a few situations (like lawsuits between provincial governments or some cases between the federal government and a province) it sits as a court of original jurisdiction.

The Commonwealth Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court. They operate under a system of mandatory review which means they must hear all appeals of right from the lower courts. The Rutania District Court is the general trial court and has original jurisdiction. In such cases, the district courts have jurisdiction to hear appeals from such lower bodies.

=Elections=

Elections are currently conducted every 4 years throughout the nation, for federal, provincial and local elections in all 5 provinces. Elections are based on the election schedule which currently features August as the month for elections. The creation of the 5th Republic established that elections were to be held on the 10th of the month. Rutania uses First-past-the-post (FPTP) in local, provincial and Presidential elections; Plurality at-large is used in Parliamentary elections due to the usage of multi-member districts. Rutania has universal suffrage, meaning once a person is the age of 17, they are allowed to vote provided they are registered.

Currently, June 10th is the date for general elections in Rutania, with the next one scheduled to occur in June 3661.

=Links= Rutania