Politics of Iboma: Difference between revisions
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{{Notcanon}}
[[Category:Iboma]]
{{Infobox political system|name=Queendom of Iboma|native_name=Lutendane la'Iboma|image=Coat of arms of Iboma.png|caption=Coat of arms of Iboma|type=Unitary matriarchy, theocracy and parliamentary democracy under an elective constitutional monarchy|constitution=Uncodified (most important document is the Covenant of the Twelve Tribes)|formation={{start date and age|1600|01|01}}|legislature=National Assembly|legislature_type=Bicameral|legislature_place=Komodu|legislature_speaker=Mujaji va Kananero|legislature_speaker_title=Speaker of the Chamber|upperhouse=Legislative Council|upperhouse_speaker=Mujaji va Kananero|upperhouse_speaker_title=Speaker of the Chamber|upperhouse_appointer=Single member constituencies, plurality, ranked-choice voting|lowerhouse=Representative Council|lowerhouse_speaker=Jamima va Nala|lowerhouse_speaker_title=Presiding Officer|lowerhouse_appointer=Lottery1|title_hos=Queen of Iboma|current_hos=Rutendo III|appointer_hos=Queen's Trials|title_hog=Grand Vizier of Iboma|current_hog=Rufaro va Asanda|appointer_hog=Queen|cabinet=High Council of Iboma|cabinet_leader=Grand Vizier|cabinet_appointer=Queen|cabinet_hq=Komodu|judiciary=Judiciary of Iboma|judiciary_head_title=Supreme Guardian of Justice|judiciary_head=Lady Justice Yolanda va Tawenda1|court1=Supreme Chamber of Justice|court_seat1=Komodu}}
The politics of the Queendom of Iboma (''lwuTendane lw'Iboma'') take place in the framework of a multiparty liberal representative democracy under an elected constitutional monarchy. The Goddess Akrona (''mwuDzimu Akronya'') through the Crown (''lwuTsiwane'') imparts the country with its sovereignty and gives its government authority, powers and dignities vested in the Queen (''mwuTenda'') which she exercises largely on the advice of the Chancellor (''mwuKanziliri''). The Chancellor leads the Council of Ministers (the de facto executive branch of the govermment), the Executive Committee of the Council of Elders. She is always the leader of the largest party in the Council of the People (the lower house of the National Assembly). The Queen and the National Assembly form the legislative branch while the Queen, Supreme Chambers of Justice and other courts form the judicial branch. The Constitution of Iboma is unwritten and consists of traditions, laws and judicial precedents.
==Founding==
Originally there were 12 tribes which lived in the islands that today comprise Iboma. They were autonomous and ruled over themselves. However, they recognized the symbolic position of a Matriarch who was a symbol of their shared heritage. Unfortunately, they were facing several challenges in the late 16th century such as natural disasters and foreign invasion. Unable to coordinate their efforts and pool resources due to mutual distrust and self-interest they remained weak and suffered greatly. The first Queen and last Matriarch, Mujaji I, brought the leaders of the nations together at Komodu and convinced them to form a united country with her as the Queen. They agreed and this agreement is called the Covenant of the Twelve Tribes.
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* To grant pardons
* To grant and withhold peerages
* To appoint and remove peerages and clerics from the Council of Peers
* To grant royal assent to bills
* To appoint the leader of the largest party in the Council of the People as Chancellor
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* Naturalised citizens say their oaths to her
* Passports ask for protection for the traveller in her name
The official title of the Queen is as follows: By the Grace of the All-Mother, Rutendo III, Queen of Iboma, Supreme Guardian of the Akronist Church of Iboma, Duchess of Komodu. The only title not attached to the Crown is Duchess of Komodu. This title is attached to the Queen in her personal capacity and arises because she is the head of the House of Mujaji which holds the Duchy of Komodu. The title of Supreme Guardian of the Akronist Church of Iboma arises because the Queen of Iboma is not only expected to rule according to the teachings of Akronism but the belief is that Iboma exists as a nation and the Crown exists solely because of and from the Goddess Akrona, as such it is the Queen's duty to protect and uphold the Akronist Church of Iboma. The practical effect of the title of Supreme Guardian is that it establishes the Akronist Church of Iboma as the state religion of Iboma.
The Queen's closest relatives comprise the Royal Family of Iboma. This includes all her descendants and full consorts, her parents and siblings. They all receive the title of Prince or Princess for life even if a new Queen is appointed. Only the Queen's primary consort and their eldest daughter receive a stipend and staff from the government for their upkeep and performance of official duties. Other members of the Royal Family of Iboma may receive all the dignities associated with their title and station including being the first in the orders of ceremonial precedent, and permission to wear royal regalia. Together with courtiers, they comprise the Royal Court of Iboma. The Queen officially resides and works in the Kalangara Palace in Komodu.
==Executive branch==
The executive branch of the government of Iboma is known as the Queen-in-Council. This is because legally the Queen exercises executive functions by issuing Orders-in-Council which are basically executive decrees issued on the advice or with the witness of the Council of Elders (depending on the discretion that the Queen has to issue said Orders-in-Council). The Executive Committee of the Council of Elders, also known as the Council of Ministers, is the body that issues most Orders-in-Council on behalf of the Queen (or the Crown to be more specific) and she merely grants her formal ascension to them as requested (or in practice as directed) by the Chancellor. However, there are Orders-in-Council that she can issue at her discretion (see the section on the Monarchy). Because of the legal principal that the Queen is immune and the her ministers are responsible, her signature is a mere formality and the Orders-in-Council are considered binding the moment they are approved by the competent minister or body.
There are Orders-in-Council issued in terms of ancient royal prerogatives but they can also be issued in terms of statute. When a law is created, it normally specifies which minister or more accurately which executive portfolio or regulatory body is responsible for its enforcement. By consequence, the National Assembly grants the Crown by statute various non-royal prerogatives which are in turn exercised by the executive branch in the name of the Crown. The formulation of many Orders-in-Council begins with a statement such as "The Queen hereby decrees..."
The Chancellor is the chair of the Council of Ministers. Many of the inherent royal prerogatives of the Crown can only be exercised with the formal advice of the Chancellor. This means once the Chancellor advises the Queen to approve of an Order-in-Council to exercise a royal prerogative (over which she has no discretion), she cannot refuse. She is seen to have agreed the moment the request is made and the advice is given. As such, in reality, the Chancellor exercises many of the main executive functions of the Crown and as such is the ''de facto'' head of government. The only practical obligation that the Chancellor has to the Queen with respect to these executive royal prerogatives is that she must inform her and listen to (but not obey) her counsel. This happens in frequent meetings that the Chancellor has.
In practice, the Chancellor dismisses and appoints the other members of the Council of Minister who are known as the State Councillors. State Councillors meet every week to discuss important government matters and to approve various executive decisions that do not fall into the hands of a single member. The Lady President of the Council of Elders is responsible to taking and publishing minutes of the meetings of the Council of Ministers. Unless, she is a State Councillor as well, she is not considered a member and can neither vote nor deliberate.
The State Councillors are usually heads of executive departments known as State Offices. These State Offices has various functions over the running of the government as follows:
* Treasury: Budget, taxes, accounts, economic policy, foreign trade, internal commerce
* Education: Schools, universities, teachers, curricula
* Justice: Courts and tribunals, prisons, police, parole boards, legal profession, prosecutions
* Defence: the military, arms manufacturing industry, military intelligence
* Foreign Affairs: foreign relations, international agreements, alliances, memberships, immigration
* Home Affairs: civilian intelligence, state security, identity documents, border security, citizenship and nationality, disaster response
* Social Development: trade unions, workers, non-governmental organisations, social work, social welfare, vulnerable groups rights
* Health: hospitals, clinics, medical and allied professions, health insurance
* Housing and Infrastructure: Roads, ports, airports, railways, property development, city planning, public housing
* Water: dams, reservoirs, pipes, sewerage, water treatment facilities
* Mining and Energy: power plants, transmission and distribution, mines, gas and oil pipelines, petrol retail
* Environment and Food Security: farming, fishing, forestry, nature reserves, greenhouse gas emissions, meteorological services, food retail
* Church Affairs: Akronist Church of Iboma
* Culture: Sport, culture, arts, tourism, national heritage
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==Legislature==
The legislative branch of the government of Iboma consists of the Queen-in-Assembly and the National Assembly. The term Queen-in-Assembly refers to the royal prerogatives that the Crown has with respect to legislative functions. Almost all bills must originate i.e., be first proposed for discussion and first voted upon, in the Council of the People (which is the nominally lower house of the National Assembly) and any bill can originate from the Council of the People. The Council of the People has no restriction on its legislative mandate. Bills which may originate in the Council of Peers (which is the nominally upper house) are normally related to aristocratic, royal, heritage and religious affairs. No bill can be presented to the monarch for royal assent unless it has received a simple majority of a quorate sitting of the Council of the People however all bills must be read at least once in the Council of Peers before being presented to the monarch. Although the Council of Peers can vote on legislation to signal their approval, when the Council of the People passes a bill, it is legally considered as if the entire National Assembly has passed the bill.
The official responsible for presenting bills to the Queen for her royal assent is the Speaker of the National Assembly who sits in and is the chairwoman of the Council of Peers. The Queen cannot refuse to grant royal assent unless advised to withhold it by the Chancellor of Iboma. As such, because most bills would have been passed by a majority of the National Assembly which is normally supported by the largest party or coalition in the Council of the People of which the Chancellor is the head, it is exceptionally rare for the Chancellor to advise the Queen to withhold royal assent. The Queen cannot refuse the Chancellor's request to withhold royal assent, the Chancellor's advice is considered binding the moment it is conveyed and no other evidence is required of the Queen's assent other than the request by the Chancellor i.e., her assent is assumed. Nevertheless, the Queen will sign all acts physically by tradition. The Lady Keeper of the Privy Seal is responsible for stamping the bill with the Royal Seal when the Queen grants royal assent and publishing it in the Royal Gazette.
The Council of the People is elected by the voting age registered and eligible adult citizenry of Iboma every four years. The Council of the People consists of 300 members. Each member holds one seat and as such each member has one vote. Members may not transfer votes between them or delegate their votes to a proxy thus members must be in attendance themselves digitally or physically for their vote to be valid. Each member represents a constituency. The voting population of each constituency vote for the candidates registered for that constituency. Each constituency is required to have roughly the same population however the actual borders of the constituencies are drawn and determined by the Elections Committee of the Council of the People.
The Royal Electoral Commission is responsible for administering the elections and actually making sure that they are free and fair. No private or public body may interfere with its work i.e., interfering in an election unlawfully is considered a crime and is punishable by a fine or detention in one of Her Majesty's prisons. The Chancellor is responsible for advising the Queen on when she should designate the election to be held. The term of sitting of the Council of the People is exactly 1461 calendar days long (which is 4 years plus one day for a leap year). But the Queen can order the election to be held up to and not exceeding 90 calendar days after the term ends. The Royal Electoral Commission will automatically hold the election on the 90th day after the end of the Council of the People's term if the Queen has not issued an Order-in-Council by at latest 30 calendar days after the end of the Council of the People's term.
The Council of Peers is appointed by the Queen-in-Assembly. It must consist of Ladies Temporal and Ladies Spiritual. Ladies Spiritual are members thereof who are members of the clergy of Iboma. The clergy of Iboma consists only of the Akronist Church of Iboma. When the Council of Peers was founded 500 years ago, the Priestesses and Diviners of the Cults of the Goddesses Amira, Nashiya, Thula and Bast were allowed to be appointed to the Council of Peers as Ladies Spiritual however the ''Church (Amendment) Act of 1680'' restricted Ladies Spiritual to the Akronist Church of Iboma. The Queen normally appoints all the Elders of the Church and at most 10 High Priestesses giving a maximum membership of 15 clerics. A threat by the Queen not to appoint or to remove an Elder as a member of the Council of Peers is normally a de facto trigger for them to resign from their ecclesiastical positions and represents the Crown (by extension the government's) disapproval.
Ladies Temporal are holders of aristocratic titles. The Queen appoints a peerage or more specifically a title to the Council of Peers not a person. Once a peerage has been appointed to the Council of Peers, the seat occupied by that title can be inherited by the holder of the title to which the seat is attached. The Queen can remove a peerage from the Council of Peers. Titles which cannot be inherited i.e., life peerages, immediately fall vacant upon their extinction which happens when the holder dies. There are 50 Ladies Temporal who are members of the Council of Peers. The peerages held by the heads of the Houses of Mujaji, Nandi, Zwaditu, Makeda, Asantwa, and Ndzinga have never been removed since 1721.
Thus, the Council of Peers has 66 members including its chairwoman, the Lady President of the Council of Peers. She is elected by the members of the Council of Peers. The sessions of the Council of Peers must coincide with the Council of the People and each sitting is given ordinal numbers corresponding to the ordinal numbers of the tenure of the Council of the People. The Queen is required to follow the advise of the Chancellor when appointing and removing members of the Council of Peers.
Members of the National Assembly are immune from prosecution for actions carried out in respect of their work as members and may speak freely. The time that they may speak and their conduct in the house is determined by the Standing Rules passed by each house's Rules and Privileges Committee which is always chaired by the presiding officer. Members may also be elected to one or more committees. The committees deliberate on legislation before it is presented to the plenary of that house to be read and voted upon. Some committees have specific functions such as the Judicial, Elections and Rules and Privileges Committees of the Council of the People as mandated by statute. Members receive a monthly salary, offices and staff as determined by the Civil List and paid for by the government. Depending on whether a member occupies a certain position e.g., Leader and Members of Her Majesty's Government, Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, Chairwoman of Committees, Members of Her Majesty's Shadow Council, Whips etc., they receive different salaries and other emoluments. Thus technically, State Councillors do not receive salaries for their executive roles but for their legislative roles.
The National Assembly is responsible for holding the executive branch accountable. The Council of the People can summon members of the executive branch for Questions which the executive branch is required to answers. Committees can also issue legally binding summons and subpoenas for which people can be arrested or fined if they show contempt. The two houses can issue non-binding Resolutions and conduct investigations and publish reports on any matter of their choosing. If the Council of the People passes a vote of no-confidence in the Chancellor, the entire Council of Ministers is required to resign from their positions, however the Chancellor can advise the Queen to dissolve the Council of the People and call a new election instead of resigning and hope that the new Council of the People will be more favourable.
==Judiciary==
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