House of Representatives of Kalșeri

 

House of Representatives of Kalșeri Represéntagiseri (kh)
48th House of Representatives
Type
Type	Lower house
Leadership
High Summoner	HS Diego Y. Morelos, L Since August 28, 2020
Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats	Ashley Moriarty (LN) Since October 22, 2017
Spokesperson for the Social Cooperationists	William Kusznieski (KL) Since May 17, 2017
Spokesperson for the Libertarians	Rick Gosling (JV) Since November 20, 2020
Spokesperson for Kalșerians for Change	Natasha Cordell (LG) Since April 3, 2017
Structure
Seats	200
Political groups	Kalșerians for Change (10)   Social Cooperationists (58)   Progressives (3)   Puwersas (3)   Libertarians (15)   Liberal Democrats (75)   Cartierois (2)   Conservatives (1)   Falkorians (2)   National Democrats (27)   Reformers (4)
Length of term	5 years, renewable once
Elections
Voting system	Contingent vote in single-member districts
Last election	March 20, 2022
Next election	On or before March 21, 2027
Meeting place
West Wing, Mecklenburg House, Evalria
Website
representatives.kl

The House of Representatives of Kalșeri (Kalhan: Represéntagiseri), colloquially referred to as just the House, is the lower house of the Congress, the legislative branch of Kalșeri, with the Senate being the upper house.

As the House of Representatives is the lower of the two houses of Congress, most bills originate from here, and, if approved, are sent to the Senate.

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of Kalșeri
Constitution Charter of Kalșeri Human rights in Kalșeri
President President of Kalșeri Richard Nakamura (D)
Executive Prime Minister Jim Babich (D) Deputy Prime Minister Maia Filisi (D) Cabinet of Kalșeri Babich Ministries
Legislature House of Representatives (High Summoner • constituencies • members) Senate (President)
Judiciary Supreme Court (Charter) Judges Federal Court (non-Charter national law, criminal law and private law) Administrative Court (administrative law) Fiscal Court (fiscal law) Labor and Social Insurance Court (labor law and social insurance laws) Other courts
Subdivisions Canton Governor/Mayor • Cantonal legislature (composition) Province • Municipality (Index) • Township
Elections Electoral system Political parties Kalșerian governing coalition Presidential elections 1784 1789 1794 1799 1804 1809 1814 1819 1824 1829 1834 1839 1844 1849 1854 1859 1864 1869 1874 1879 1884 1889 1894 1899 1904 1909 1914 1919 1924 1929 1932 1935 1942 1949 1956 1963 1970 1977 1984 1991 1998 2005 2012 2019 2026 General elections 1784 1787 1792 1797 1802 1807 1812 1817 1822 1827 1832 1837 1842 1847 1852 1857 1862 1867 1872 1877 1882 1887 1892 1897 1902 1907 1912 1917 1922 1927 1932 1934 1937 1942 1947 1952 1957 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 2022 Next
Cantonal and local politics Cape Sundervale Cartier Island Chalmersville Evalria Janval Kalúen Lág New Kerry New Lothian Quincollia San Rafael Takalim Tigupoke Urgel
Foreign relations Foreign relations by country Canada China France Germany Italy Japan Russia UK USA International Relations Visa Passport Commonwealth of Nations NATO
Political ideologies Ancestralism Centralism Communism Conservatism Agrarian Federalism Far-right Rovuanism Liberalism Monarchism Social democracy

History

Both houses of Congress were established by the Congress Act 1784, at the behest of President Archibald Hayworth, replacing the temporary Constituent Assembly.

At the moment of creation, only males who had either completed primary education or worked for more than 15 years were allowed to vote. The electoral base was subsequently revised thrice:

1. the Base Act 1871 expanded the electoral base to any male citizen aged 25 or older;
2. the Charter, ratified in 1934, extended the right to vote to any citizen aged 20 or older, regardless of sex;
3. the age requirement was lowered to 18 in 1971, with the passage of the Eleventh Amendment.

The Charter also codifies the number of Representatives for each canton, setting it at the number of people living in the canton at the last Census, divided by 150,000, plus a variable number of Representatives for Kalșerians abroad, equalling to 200 Representatives in total.

Composition

The House constituencies for 2022

The House of Representatives is composed of 200 seats, which are elected directly by the citizens. The election of the House of Representatives, just like the one for the Senate, takes place on the third Sunday of March of every five years, unless Congress has been dissolved earlier.

The number of seats allocated is 200; two-thirds of them (134) are through cantonal proportional lists, 60 one-seat constituencies are allotted for Kalșeri proper, and the remaining seats are given to Representatives of Kalșerians abroad (North and Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Western Asia, and the Eastern Asia-Pacific seat). The borders of each constituency are changed accordingly by a non-partisan body, to avoid gerrymandering. Kalúen, the most populated canton, has 31 seats, while Cape Sundervale, the least populated canton, has two.

Canton	Inhabitants (2019 est.)	PR seats	Single-member constituencies
Cape Sundervale	222,747	2	0
Cartier Island	746,726	2	1
Chalmersville	953,186	3	1
Evalria	2,114,960	7	3
Janval	3,500,248	12	5
Kalúen	6,456,398	21	10
Lág	5,598,044	18	8
New Kerry	4,499,905	15	7
New Lothian	3,010,496	10	5
Quincollia	614,489	2	1
San Rafael	2,639,430	9	4
Takalim	5,514,632	18	8
Tigupoke	1,175,906	4	2
Urgel	3,342,783	11	5
Representatives for Kalșerians abroad		–	6

Starting from the general election after 2022, the House will see the addition of 65 proportional representation seats reserved for native Kalhan speakers, thus divided:

Canton	Kalhan seats
Cape Sundervale	1
Cartier Island	1
Chalmersville	2
Evalria	3
Janval	6
Kalúen	10
Lág	9
New Kerry	7
New Lothian	5
Quincollia	1
San Rafael	4
Takalim	9
Tigupoke	2
Urgel	5
Total	65

Functions

As the House of Representatives is one part of the national legislature of Kalșeri, bills may originate from either the House of Representatives or the Senate. A simple majority is required for a bill to be forwarded to the Senate, which then forwards it to the President, who then may either sign the bill into law or veto it. The House, along with the Senate, can override a Presidential veto after three vetoes. The House may override a Senate veto after three rejections.

The House of Representatives, along with the Senate, also wields the power to incapacitate the President, a member of their Cabinet or an official from the judiciary branch.

Seating

As per tradition, the Social Cooperationists sit on the left, while the Liberal Democrats sit on the right of the High Summoner's dais. For smaller parties, their place is often determined based on their ideology.

Offices

High Summoner

The High Summoner is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives. The High Summoner's duties include regulating and monitoring discussion held during the daily session of the House of Representatives, ruling on points of order, announcing the results of votes and executing disciplinary actions: the High Summoner has the power to suspend Representatives for the rest of the day's sitting or expel them from the current legislature.

The High Summoner is a Representative, a primus inter pares chosen by the House to monitor debate. Upon nomination, the High Summoner's former constituency seat is occupied by the leader of the local section of the Party of the High Summoner. The High Summoner, perceived as a neutral figure, is also expected to suspend their membership of the party during their stay as High Summoner. Most of the time, the High Summoner is chosen among the governing party or coalition.

Father of the House

Unlike the High Summoner, the Father of the House (Mother of the House for female Representatives) is a largely ceremonial role bestowed upon the longest-serving Representative. Some actual benefits include raised retirement benefits, a higher role in the order of precedence and presiding over the election of the High Summoner.

Party Whip

Each party with three seats or more in the House of Representatives is entitled to a Spokesperson, or, colloquially, a Whip. The Spokesperson reports the proceedings of their party to the High Summoner, and may tell the party's Representatives to vote for or against a specific bill, or call a motion of abstinence for said bill.

• Social Cooperation Party: William Kusznieski (Kalúen; since 2017)
• Liberal Democrats: Ashley Moriarty (New Lothian; since 2017)
• National Democrats: Stvee Jurgensen (Janval; since 2022)
• Libertarians: Rick Gosling (Janval; since 2020)
• Kalșerians for Change: Natasha Cordell (Lág; since 2017)
• Cartierois National Party: Timothée Fratton (Cartier Island; since 2019)

Membership

The requirements for holding the office of Representative are codified in the Charter. To run for Representative, a citizen must meet the following requirements:

• be a Kalșerian citizen;
  • If a foreigner is elected to the House of Representatives, they must first pass the Citizenship Test, a quiz about general culture, history and political life in Kalșeri; they may not sit in the House of Representatives until they have passed the Test.
• be 25 or older at the time of confirmation (April 1st);
• not have been accused of any felony for the last 15 years;
• be legally sane.

Confirmation

On April 1st, after the candidate has been elected, the Representative-elect is confirmed to the post via a public ceremony in which the oath of allegiance is uttered before the High Summoner, in either Kalhan or English:

I, [full name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend Kalșeri from all enemies, that I will bear allegiance to the Charter, that I will express the needs of my people before my own, and that I will perform the duties bestowed to me faithfully, consciously and professionally. (So help me God.)

The last sentence may be omitted, and the Representative-elect is given the option to swear on either a copy of the Bible or a copy of the Charter.

After the oath, the Representative-elect, now a full-fledged Representative, is invited to attend a brief conference held by the High Summoner, explaining how the House of Representatives works and reminding the rights and duties of a Representative; the conference is then followed by a State Luncheon, a tour of the House of Representatives building for newcomers, and then the welcoming ceremony.

Suspension and expulsion

The High Summoner may suspend or expel a Representative. Suspension, applied motu proprio and after concrete instances of unparliamentary behavior, lasts for the rest of the day's sitting.