Preface

We the People of Voices of Democracy, establish this Constitution.

Article 1 — The Parliament

Part 1 — Overview

§1. The Parliament shall be the primary legislative body of Voices of Democracy and shall represent the interests of the people by wielding legislative authority.

§2. Parliament shall consist of two houses. Each house of Parliament shall make their own rules and procedures as they see fit.

§3. A member of either house of Parliament shall only be forcibly expelled from Parliament in the event of an impeachment and subsequent conviction against them.

§4. Parliament may decide to put legislation to a public referendum. In such cases, legislation will be presented to the President if it obtains a simple majority vote in support from the public referendum.

§4.1. Parliament may also put material before the public in a non-binding referendum.

§5. Each house of Parliament shall have the power to issue subpoenas.

§6. Each house of Parliament shall have the authority to conduct oversight into public offices and those who occupy public offices.

§7. Each house of Parliament shall have the authority to impeach anyone who holds public office.

Part 2 — The House of Representatives

§1. The House of Representatives shall be the lower house of Parliament.

§1.1. A Member of the House of Representatives shall be known as a Member of Parliament or a Representative.

§1.2. The number of seats in the Houses of Representatives shall, in accordance with any regulations in this Constitution, be individually determined by the Electoral Commission.

§2. The government (also known as the executive branch) shall always answer to the House of Representatives.

§3. The House of Representatives shall never be dissolved except to make way for a new House of Representatives after an election.

§4. Elections for the House of Representatives shall occur when the President or the Prime Minister calls an election.

§4.1. When the Prime Minister calls an election, they must get approval from the President for what date and time the election will take place.

§4.1.1. In cases where the Prime Minister calls an election, if it is necessary or proper, the President may schedule the election without approval from the Prime Minister.

§4.2. A Prime Minister shall not have the power to call an election unless they have been appointed Prime Minister during the current House of Representatives term.

§4.2.1. In cases where the current Prime Minister was not appointed Prime Minister during the current House of Representatives term, the House of Representatives may vote to petition the President to call an election.

§4.3. House of Representatives elections shall be conducted using Party List (Sainte-Laguë Method), as defined in the appendix of this Constitution.

§4.4. The President is not permitted to call a House of Representatives election until approximately four weeks have passed since the last House of Representatives election. The President is obligated to call a House of Representatives election once approximately four weeks have passed since the last House of Representatives election. The President shall have the power to call an early House of Representatives election if it is petitioned by the House of Representatives during the period in which the House of Representatives is engaged in deciding on which citizen to give confidence to serve as Prime Minister. The President shall be obligated to fulfill this petition if it is necessary and proper.

§5. The Leader of the Opposition shall be a ceremonial title that is held by the party leader of the largest party in the House of Representatives that is not giving confidence to the government.

Part 3 — The Senate

§1. The Senate shall be the upper house of Parliament.

§1.1. A member of the Senate shall be known as a Senator.

§1.2. The number of seats in the Senate shall, in accordance with any regulations in this Constitution, be individually determined by the Electoral Commission.

§2. The President, with consent from the Council of State, and if it is necessary and proper, shall have the power to establish or dissolve the Senate.

§2.1. The President, with consent from the Council of State, if it is necessary and proper, shall have the power to declare that the Senate shall no longer be an elected house of Parliament. In such a case, Parliament shall decide the process for appointing Senators.

§2.1.1. The President may reverse such a declaration as they see fit.