House of Commons
 This article is a part of the Politics and Government of Ibagli series. |
| Executive |
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Monarch (King Charles III) |
| Legislative (Parliament) |
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House of Commons (Speaker) |
| Judicial |
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Supreme Court (Chief Justice) |
The House of Commons is the only house of the unicameral Parliament of Ibagli. Members are elected in general elections which must be no more than three years apart. Until 2011, it was the lower house of the Parliament, with the Senate existing as the upper house.
The House was established in 1955 as the successor to the Legislative Assembly of Ibagli.The Government of Ibagli is responsible to the House of Commons. The Prime Minister and his/her cabinet only remain in office if they can maintain the confidence of the house.
Even before the abolition of the Senate, the Commons held far more power than the the upper chamber. While the approval of both houses was necessary for the passage of bills, the Senate traditionally did not reject measures passed by the Commons, though this tradition was not necessarily extended to pieces of legislation reforming or abolishing the Senate.
Members and elections
The House of Commons is currently composed of 60 members elected by a plurality of voters in single-member districts (first past the post). In the January and November 2006 general elections, half of the house was elected using proportional representation. First past the post for all seats was restored after a referendum in 2009. The boundaries of the electoral districts are redrawn every ten years.
General elections occur whenever Parliament is dissolved by the Governor-General. The timing of the dissolution is normally chosen by the Prime Minister; however, a parliamentary term may not last for more than three years. Parliaments held before the dissolution of the 15th Parliament in 2011 were permitted to last up to five years; the maximum term was shortened by the parliamentary reform of 2010. Ibaglian law states that all federal elections must be held on a Thursday (except on statutory holidays), and the campaign must be at least 20 days long.
Candidates are usually nominated by political parties. It is possible for a candidate to run independently; although it is rare for such a candidate to win, such candidates have won in the past. When half of the house was elected proportionally, it was only possible for independent candidates to be elected to the house in the thirty electoral districts.
Until the abolition of proportional representation, each political party in Ibagli was required to maintain a list of 30 persons eligible for membership in the House of Commons. A number of these people proportional to the percentage of the second ballot votes earned were chosen to be members of the House of Commons.
Officers
The House of Commons elects a presiding officer, known as the Speaker, at the beginning of each new parliamentary term, and also whenever a vacancy arises. The Speaker is assisted by a Deputy Speaker, who also holds the title of Chairman of Committees of the Whole. The duties of presiding over the House are divided between the speaker and the Deputy Speaker; however, the Speaker usually presides over Question Period and over the most important debates.
The Speaker oversees the day-to-day running of the House, and controls debates by calling on members to speak. If a member believes that a rule (or Standing Order) has been breached, he or she may raise a "point of order", on which the Speaker makes a ruling that is not subject to any debate or appeal. The Speaker may also discipline members who fail to observe the rules of the House. When presiding, the Speaker must remain impartial. The Speaker also oversees the administration of the House. The current Speaker of the House of Commons is Sir Brian Rodney.
The member of the Government responsible for steering legislation through the House is Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. The Government House Leader (as he or she is more commonly known) is a Member of Parliament selected by the Prime Minister. The Leader manages the schedule of the House of Commons, and attempts to secure the Opposition's support for the Government's legislative agenda.
Officers of the House who are not members include the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk, the Law Clerk, the General Legislative Counsel, and several other clerks. These officers advise the Speaker and members on the rules and procedure of the House. Another important officer is the Sergeant-at-Arms, whose duties include the maintenance of order and security on the House's premises. The Sergeant-at-Arms also carries the ceremonial mace, a symbol of the authority of the Crown and of the House of Commons, into the House each sitting. The mace is subsequently laid upon the Table of the House of Commons for the duration of the sitting. The House is also staffed by parliamentary pages, who carry messages to the members in the Chamber and otherwise provide assistance to the House.
Procedure
The House of Commons meets on Parliament Hill in Haphonia. The Commons Chamber is modestly decorated in green, in contrast with the more lavishly furnished red Senate Chamber. The arrangement is similar to the design of the Chamber of the British House of Commons. The seats are evenly divided between both sides of the Chamber, two and a half sword-lengths apart. The Speaker's chair is at one end of the Chamber; in front of it is the Table of the House, on which rests the ceremonial mace. Various "Table Officers"—clerks and other officials—sit at the table, ready to advise the Speaker on procedure when necessary. Members of the Government sit in the seats on the Speaker's right, while members of the Opposition occupy the seats on the Speaker's left. Government ministers sit around the Prime Minister. The leader of the Official Opposition sits directly across from the prime minister and is surrounded by a shadow cabinet, or critics for the government portfolios. The remaining party leaders sit in the front rows. Other Members of Parliament who do not hold any kind of special responsibilities are known as "backbenchers".
The House usually sits from Mondays to Fridays, but not on weekends. Sittings of the House are open to the public. The schedule varies from year to year and can be adjusted to meet the needs of the House of Commons. They are recorded in text form in print and online in Hansard, the official report of parliamentary debates.
The Constitution Act, 1955 establishes a quorum of ten members (including the member presiding) for the House of Commons. Any member may request a count of the members to ascertain the presence of a quorum; if, however, the Speaker feels that at least ten members are clearly in the Chamber, he or she may deny the request. If a count does occur, and reveals that fewer than ten members are present, the Speaker orders bells to be rung, so that other members on the parliamentary precincts may come to the Chamber. If, after a second count, a quorum is still not present, the Speaker must adjourn the House until the next sitting day.
During debates, members may only speak if called upon by the Speaker (or the deputy presiding). The Speaker is responsible for ensuring that members of all parties have an opportunity to be heard. The Speaker also determines who is to speak if two or more members rise simultaneously, but his or her decision may be altered by the House. Motions must be moved by one member and seconded by another before debate may begin; some motions, however, are non-debatable.
According to the current standing orders, all speeches in the House must be made in English. Members must address their speeches to the presiding officer, not the House, using the words "Mr. Speaker" or "Madam Speaker". Other members must be referred to in the third person. Traditionally, Members do not refer to each other by name, but by constituency or cabinet post, using forms such as "the honourable member for [electoral district]" or "the Minister of..."
The Speaker enforces the rules of the House, and may warn and punish Members who deviate from them. Disregarding the Speaker's instructions is considered a severe breach of the rules of the House, and may result in the suspension of the offender from the House.
No member may speak more than once on the same question (except that the mover of a motion is entitled to make one speech at the beginning of the debate and another at the end). Moreover, tediously repetitive or irrelevant remarks are prohibited; the presiding officer may order a member making such remarks to cease speaking. The Standing Orders of the House of Commons prescribe time limits for speeches. The limits depend on the nature of the motion, but are most commonly between ten and twenty minutes. However, under certain circumstances, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Official Opposition, and others are entitled to make longer speeches. Debate may be further restricted by the passage of "time allocation" motions. Alternatively, the House may end debate more quickly by passing a motion for "closure".
When the debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. The House first votes by voice vote; the presiding officer puts the question, and members respond either "yea" (in favour of the motion) or "nay" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote, but five or more members may challenge his or her assessment, thereby forcing a recorded vote (known as a division). First, members in favour of the motion rise, so that the clerks may record their names and votes. Then, the same procedure is repeated for members who oppose the motion. There is no formal means for recording an abstention, though a member may informally abstain by remaining seated during the division. If there is an equality of votes, the Speaker or Deputy Speaker has a casting vote. If the number of members voting, plus the presiding officer, does not total ten, then a quorum is not present, and the vote is invalid.
The outcome of most votes is largely known beforehand, since political parties normally instruct members on how to vote. A party normally entrusts some Members of Parliament, known as whips, with the task of ensuring that all party members vote as desired. Members of Parliament do not tend to vote against such instructions, since those who do so are unlikely to reach higher political ranks in their parties. Errant members may be deselected as official party candidates during future elections, and, in serious cases, may be expelled from their parties outright. Thus, the independence of Members of Parliament tends to be extremely low, and "backbench rebellions" by members discontent with their party's policies are rare. In some circumstances, however, parties announce "free votes", allowing Members to vote as they please. This may be done on moral issues.
Current Party Representation
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| Party | Seats | |
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| **** | Liberal Party | 35 |
| **** | Conservative Party | 24 |
| **** | Ropu Sa'olotoga | 1 |