Political System

Form of Government: Parliamentary Democracy, Federation
Executive Branch: Cabinet with the President
Legislature Branch: Federal Senate
Judiciary Branch: Supreme Court

Number of Provinces: 16
Provincial Autonomy: Partial
Provincial Governor: Proconsul
Provincial Legislative Body: Provincial Senate

Head of State: President
Head of Government: Prime Minister
Chairman of the Senate: Consul

Lengths of Terms: President 5 years, Senate 4 years

Number of Senators: 200

Overview

Pax Aurea is a parliamentary democracy, with the President having a relatively strong role in the administration. The Senate continues as the main legislative body, but after the Federation borned out of the old Republic, provincial Senates have slowly but steadily increased their local authority and autonomy.

Voting Rights

Every Aurean citizen is eligible to vote in all elections when he or she turns sixteen years of age. In certain special and extraordinary situations, people residing in Pax Aurea without citizenship can be allowed to cast their vote in a referendum that has a direct impact on them, though this is very rare.

Federal Provinces

Politically, Pax Aurea has been divided into sixteen federal provinces. The main reason for the existence of the province system is geography: in addition to the core of the nation, the Atlantic Aurean Isles, several then-colonies, now-provinces lie along the Western coast of Africa and in the Caribbean Sea. The provinces enjoy various decrees of autonomy and have their own Provincial Senates, with varying number of representatives. A province is led by a Proconsul. Each province is also a separate voting district in referendums and Senate elections so the entire Commonwealth is fairly and equally represented.

The President

The President of Pax Aurea is elected for a five-year-long term via a direct popular vote. He or she acts as the Head of State and leads the foreign policy with the Federal Government. The President presents the legislation proposed by the Government to the Senate. He or she also has the right to veto any one law passed by the Senate, but only once; should this veto be used, the law is returned back to the Senate for a new process, debate, and vote. If the law is passed again, the President cannot veto it the second time. The President still bears the rank of the Supreme Commander of the Commonwealth Self-Defence Forces, though the armed forces have been officially abolished, with the tiny Border Guard and Coastal Guard operating as part of the law enforcement agency. The President can be removed from his or her office via a Vote of No Confidence by either a popular referendum or by the Senate. When the President is unable to perform his or her duties, the Vice President will act on his or her behalf. Instead of a permanent office of a Vice-President, there exists a line of presidential succession, the top three being the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Chairman of the Senate, and the Prime Minister.

The Government

The heart of the Aurean administration is formed by the Federal Government, also known as the Cabinet. Led by the Prime Minister, the government is composed of the major winners of the Senate elections, though in order to become a minister it is not required to hold a seat in the Senate. The government is responsible for the domestic and foreign policies as well as composing new legislation. With the new Senate elections, the old government asks the President to disband it, usually every four years. The Prime Minister leads the domestic politics, as opposed to the President's lead role in foreign relations.

The Federal Senate

The Senate is the most ancient government institution of Pax Aurea. Crafted out of the old Roman provincial council, it consists of 200 representatives called Senators who are elected for a four-year-long term. The Senate is the main legislative body of the Federal Commonwealth. It is a unicameral parliament with a multi-party system.

The Chairman of the Senate is called Consul. Before the formation of the Federal Commonwealth, the Consul was also the head of state.

Political Parties

The political field of Pax Aurea is somewhat fractured, with a wide variety of different parties represented in the Senate. The multi-party system has been in place for hundreds of years, effectively preventing the formation of a more rigid two-party system. It has resulted in quite colourful governments. During the last fifty years, most of the governments have nevertheless endured their full four year terms despite often bumpy roads.

Because of the constant need to find compromises, many critics have claimed the parties of today resemble each others too much already.

There are some limitations placed on the political parties, however. The Aurean constitution specifically forbids the formation of fascist and national socialist parties, parties that seek to disband the democratic form of government (i.e. radical communists, among others), and parties that pursue the legalization of capital punishment.