Senate of Kalșeri

Senate of Kalșeri
Senate of Kalșeri ; Senatum (kh)
	50th Senate
Type
Type	Upper house
Leadership
President of the Senate	Filippus Narasi (JV), D ; Since April 10, 2022
Majority Speaker	Kenny Nakamura (KL), D ; Since March 23, 2022
Leader of the Opposition	Charlie Gilchrist (TG), S ; Since May 9, 2019
Vice President of the Senate	Penélope Higi (UR), S ; Since June 18, 2021
Structure
Seats	56
Political groups	Governing coalition:; Liberal Democrats (24); CS Conservatives (3); Puwersas (1); Opposition:; Social Cooperation (20); National Democrats (6); Movement for Action (1); Crossbench:; Libertarians (1);
Length of term	5 years
Elections
Voting system	Instant-runoff voting
Last election	March 20, 2022
Next election	March 21, 2027
Meeting place
	East Wing, Mecklenburg House, Evalria
Website
	senate.kl

The Senate of Kalșeri (Kalhan: Senatum) is the upper house of the Congress of Kalșeri, the legislative branch of Kalșeri, with the House of Representatives being the lower house.

The Senate has the task of reviewing bills approved by the House of Representatives and making sure that they are compatible with the Charter.

History

Both houses of Congress were established by the Congress Act 1784, at the behest of President Archibald Hayworth, replacing the Constituent Assembly. The numbering scheme of three Senators per canton was inherited from the precolonial Council of the Eight Tribes, abolished in 1669, and expanded to four Senators per canton in 1934.

Upon the creation of the Senate, its members were all appointed by the President on advice of Representatives and high-ranking politicians from each canton. It was not until 1934 that Senators began to be elected directly by the people, as mentioned in the newly-ratified Charter

Composition

The Senate is composed of 56 seats, four per canton. At least one of four seats per canton must be occupied by a Kalhan-speaker; the Senate will thus have at least a quarter of its members from the Kalhan-speaking community.

Unlike in the House of Representatives, where voters choose individuals for the single-member constituencies and a party list for the proportional representation blocs, Senate electors are asked to choose up to four candidates; Senators-elect are determined through instant-runoff voting.

Seating

Unlike the House of Representatives, which arranges seats in a semicircle, the seats of the Senate are arranged Westminster style. The traditional arrangement is for the the Opposition to sit on the left of the dais of the President of the Senate, while the Majority sits on the right.

Offices

President of the Senate

The President of the Senate is the presiding officer of the Senate. The duties of the President of the Senate include regulating and monitoring discussion held during the daily session of the Senate, ruling on points of order and announcing the results of votes.

The President is a primus inter pares chosen among elected Senators to monitor debate. Unlike the High Summoner, the President of the Senate gets to vote just like any other Senator, and they are not expected to suspend their party membership. The post is also mentioned only briefly in the Charter.

The current President of the Senate is Filippus Narasi (D-JV).

Membership

To run for Senator, a citizen must meet the following requirements:

be a Kalșerian citizen;
be 30 or older at the time of inauguration;
not have been accused of any felony for the last 15 years;
enjoy good physical and mental health;
have resided inside the canton for at least 365 days prior to the election.

Confirmation

On April 1st, the Senator-elect is confirmed to the post via a public ceremony in which the oath of allegiance is uttered before the President of the Senate and the President pro tempore in either Kalhan or English:

Kalhan:

Ho, [full name], jardoni janu mo ho tirki e șunarki Kalșeri'ta ol ie mongia, mo ho gerki Rialkarta'ta, mo ho jirki ușáriata giasi ol hosi ușáriata, e mo ho jirki geani, káprirdoni e lígirdoni. [Sar hota tișuan.]

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.]

Traditionally, the sentence "So help me God" has been added at the end of the oath. The Senator-elect is given the option to swear on either a copy of the Bible or a copy of the Charter. The oath is the same as the one uttered by Representatives-elect and the President-elect.