D. N. Vercáriâ
Group: citizens
(4498 posts total)
(last post: March 15, 2008 - 16:51)
Citizen #26:
Dieter N Vercáriâ | > > Another idea to consider would be whether we needed a provincial basis for an upper house, or whether it could be elected on some other basis.
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> > We could of course introduce an unicameral parliament in which half of the Deputies are directly elected representants of the Provinces. In the bicameral picture it's hard to explain why Senators should be elected by the Provinces, if the job of the Senäts isn't even remotely related to provincial affairs. "Because some people grumble about the party list voting system" is not a sufficiently good reason, IMHO.
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> Theer are countries who elect their upper house/first chamber/senate by a nationwide election, without the senators representing anything in particular other than the entire nation. Theyv are simply a collection of elder statesmen as a check on the government and second chamber. That would be fine with me, BUT FIRST WE NEED AT LEAST ANOTHER 15 CITIZENS! Look at the current government and civil servant structure and see how thinly we are spread. Clamouring for a Senate at the moment is ridiculous. I'd say we won't be able to have one for at least two years, realistically.
Regarding the current constitutional layout, the Senäts as an upper house of parliament won't do much except implementing one more instance of political checks and balances, between the C.o.D. and the President. So if we need this, what about nationwide elections, i.e., elections that are not based on the Provinces? For example, a 3-seat Senäts that is elected using the STV method?
And what about something different, like the Penguinean "House of Keys", an elected executive with check-and-balance powers? I could roughly think of three "Keys": The SoS, The Attorney-General and the Mençéi.
- Dieter
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