Parliament of Ibagli
 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 Parliament of Ibagli is the legislative branch of the Ibaglian government. According to section 7 of The Constitution Act, 1955, Parliament consists of the Sovereign and the House of Commons. Until 2011, there was also a Senate.
Members of the House of Commons are elected by the people of Ibagli. In future elections and from 1955 to 2004, all 60 members are elected using the first past the post method. In the January 2006 and November 2006 general elections, 30 were directly elected by the people using the first-past-the-post method, and 30 were elected by proportional representation. This system was reversed by the Goodwin government in 2009 after a referendum, the first ever in Ibagli. Senators were appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister. There were no more than twenty-five Senators at any time.
Before the abolition of the Senate, the House of Commons was the dominant chamber of Parliament. The Senate rarely refused to approve bills passed by the lower house. In 2010, a referendum amending the Constitution to abolish the Senate as well as reduce the maximum term of a parliament to three years was approved. These changes went into effect at the end of the 15th Parliament on 19 July 2011.
History
The first legislative body in Ibagli was the Executive Council, which was established in 1903. In 1910, the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly were created. Most of the functions of the Executive Council were transferred to the Legislative Council, which consisted of four ex officio members and three representatives of the community. The Legislative Assembly consisted of seven members elected by males who were British subjects. The Legislative Assembly was expanded to 15 in 1922, and the first political party in Ibagli - the Reform Party - was founded. It won a majority of seats in the Assembly, and its leader, William Patterson, was appointed Colonial Secretary. Successive colonial secretaries were chosen in a similar manner after successive elections, and the holder of the office became colloquially referred to as Premier. This term became official in 1944. The ex officio members of the Legislative Council were removed in 1936 and replaced with members appointed by the Governor. Also in 1936, the size of the Legislative Assembly was increased to 40.
In 1953, all-party negotiations on the question of fully self-governing status within the Commonwealth (the word "independence" was not used at the time) began. Though Edward Brixton, the Liberal premier, wished for the new parliament to be a unicameral body comprised solely of elected members, he faced strong opposition from the Conservative Party, which desired that the appointed Legislative Council be retained. The Conservatives were unyielding, and the Colonial Office advised that it would not assent to a new constitution without broad agreement on the shape of the government. This disagreement would shape Ibaglian constitutional reform attempts for years to come.
The agreement, reached in 1954, called for an elected chamber, originally called the House of Assembly, and a Senate. The House of Assembly was renamed the House of Commons in later drafts of the Constitution Act. Premier Brixton stated that the new name would "bring forth the imagery of the great debating chambers in the sister dominions of Britain and Canada and demonstrate to the whole world the fully equal status of Ibagli within the Commonwealth and among the nations of the world." The House of Commons would have 60 seats, an increase from the 40 that the Legislative Assembly had contained since 1936. The Senate would have 25 seats with all of the holders appointed by the Governor-General. Members of the Legislative Council (then numbering eleven) would continue as Senators. Brixton stated after leaving office that he originally hoped to pack the new Senate with members of his own party in order that the chamber could be abolished soon after the Constitution Act took effect. The Governor, Lord Feldon, advised the Colonial Office of this possibility, however, and it advised him to equally divide the new seats among nominees from both party leaders. This did not continue after independence, however, and all vacancies are now filled on ministerial advice.
The first election for the new House of Commons was held on 12 May 1955. The Liberal Party won the majority of the seats in the House, and Premier Brixton was appointed Ibagli's first Prime Minister. The new parliament was opened on 15 June by the Duke of Gloucester. This event is typically held to be the beginning of Ibagli's independence.