Politics of Drakkengard

The politics or Drakkengard takes place in the framework of a unitary parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy. The government consists of three branches: the executive (Prime Minister and Cabinet of Drakkengard), judiciary (Supreme Court of Drakkengard and lesser courts) and legislative (Parliament of Packilvania) above whom is the King of Drakkengard.

Monarchy

The King of Drakkengard is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Drakkengard. The reigning King of Drakkengard is His Majesty, Thumim V whose senior-most consort is Her Majesty, Queen Saga of Tynam. The reigning dynasty (also known as royal family) is the Bedonite dynasty. This position was created when Drakkengard achieved independence from Packilvania following the Second Packilvanian Civil War. It was preceded by the General Secretary of the Drakken Communist Party. Prior to this, Drakkengard was ruled by the Demirite dynasty with the Grand Duke of Drakkengard of the House of Drakken as the de facto ruler.

The royal family and the monarch originate from Packilvania. The laws of Drakkengard state that the King of Drakkengard shall be the same person as the Sultan of Packilvania. As such the succession to the Throne of Drakkengard follows the law of Packilvania. However, the Council of State of Drakkengard has the power to interpret and apply the laws of succession. It is normally chaired by the Crown Prince of Drakkengard, who is supposed to be the same person as the Crown Prince of Packilvania. Since the position is vacant, Princess Yadika is the interim chairwoman. The King resides in the Bingol Royal Palace in Bingol, Packilvania, for most of the year, but he visits the country at least once a year. The King is required to follow the state religion of Drakkengard, Paxism, and uphold the canon law of Paxism as interpreted and developed by the Magisterium of Paxism.

The King has the power to promulgate laws through royal assent. He has the power to appoint the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Drakkengard and to appoint the judges of the Supreme Court of Drakkengard with the advice of the Prime Minister. He has the power to dissolve the Parliament of Drakkengard. The King has supreme power over the military and foreign affairs such as to declare war and make peace, recognise foreign nations, appoint and receive ambassadors, and entertain foreign guests. Because the King is often not in the country, the Governor-General of Drakkengard, exercises the duties of the King when he is not present. Although the Governor-General is appointed by the King at his pleasure, de facto the position goes to the head of the House of Drakken, currently Usmil VII. In reality, the Governor-General has been allowed to exercise very little of the powerof the King. Most of these powers exercised directly by the Prime Minister, making him the de facto ruler of Drakkengard.

Prime Minister

The Prime Minister of Drakkengard is the head of government of Drakkengard, currently Jawal Ukramistre. His primary role is to advise the King (and in reality the Governor-General of Drakkengard), to exert powers as delegated by the monarch and to represent the Cabinet to the monarch. The King has endorsed almost every decision of the Prime Minister without contest and restrained the ability of the Governor-General to supercede the Prime Minister by refusing to allow him to remove the Prime Minister and Cabinet or block legislation.

As such, the Prime Minister appoints the Cabinet at his pleasure. He has the power to dissolve the Parliament of Drakkengard. Given his personal influence over the Cabinet, he sets the direction and coordinates the activities of the Cabinet. He is appointed by the King at his pleasure. Should the Parliament pass a vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister is required to resign or advise the King to dissolve the Parliament so that fresh elections can be held. He has the power to advise the King to appoint judges however is restricted by the recommendations of a committee comprising Magisters, teachers and practitioners of law and existing Judges.

Cabinet

The Cabinet consists of Ministers who head departments. Together, they approve laws to be proposed to the Parliament and develop and implement policies. The Cabinet consists of the following members:

• Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance: Tubeed Anhida
• Minister of Defence: Rahad Fumeed
• Minister of Education: Sawour Khadan
• Minister of Foreign Affairs: Besmali Inhamin
• Minister of Health: Yabar Jubeel
• Minister of Home Affairs: Vadeer Jamhad
• Minister of the Environment, Rural Development and Food: Xanad Thulhad
• Minister of Mining and Energy: Durjad Falkhad
• Minister of Housing, Transport and Urban Development: Binham Wansoon
• Minister of Trade, Industry and Labour: Henad Axinod
• Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports: Dharmik Gubraan

Parliament

The Parliament of Drakkengard is the legislature. It has the power to pass laws by a 50% plus one majority. It consists of one chamber with 80 members. It is elected to a term of 4 years by the electorate via single member constituencies that roughly represent 262,500 people. They meet for two sessions of four months each every year in the Palace of Law in the city of Vaskar. Members serve full time and are immune from prosecution for the work that they do as members of Parliament.

The Parliament is chaired by the Speaker, currently Tunayda Nawad. Women and people of all ethnic groups and religions in Drakkengard are allowed to vote and stand for public office. However, unlike Packilvania, there are no minimum targets or thresholds for the participation of women and minorities. Nevertheless women comprise 25% of Parliament and ethnic and religious minorities comprise 5% of the membership. Just as Packilvania, people may not form, participate in or stand for election representing political parties.

Many members of Parliament form caucuses, i.e., informal groups of members canvassing support for a specific issue or legislation. Although people may not form parties, they can form non-profit and non-governmental organisations. Many of them are members of action groups, which are organisations for canvassing grassroots support for particular issues as well as think tanks which are groups for conducting and publishing research on policy issues. Although they are forbidden from campaigning for elections or appearing on ballots or promoting people for election, visibility and participation in action groups and think tanks can help candidates gain traction and exposure for their campaigns to get elected.