States General

The States General (: Staten Generaal), also known as the Lindian Parliament in English, is the unicameral legislature of Lindenholt that meets at the Bewindshof in the capital city Artwingen.

Empire
When King Conrad III died heirless in 1378, Lindenholt entered a with !ThemostpowerfulUmberstate in which the fiefdoms of the Lindian realm were left with a high degree of autonomy. While the kingdom's size played a role, it was mainly the social, cultural and economic differences between Lindenholt and Umbrellia that motivated !theUmberguy to grant the Lindian fiefdoms so much autonomy.

Initially the increased autonomy was well received by the Lindian nobility, however in the early 15th century it became apparent that the lack of a central authority was hurting the Lindian realm. The Lindian Guilder had suffered significant inflation due to a lack of centralised oversight. In addition to this, laws surrounding trade and the navigation of Lindenholt's inland waterways had become a patchwork of different rules, laws and taxes. Several floods, the most destructive of which setting Stokfort's streets under water for weeks, was directly the result of ill-maintained flood defences in a neighbouring state. Normally, the Crown would be responsible for the Realm's flood defences, however the new autonomous system made water management a competence of the fiefdoms directly.

In 1409 the Guldebond's member cities' delegations convened in Stokfort to discuss a solution to the problems brought about by the decentralisation. It was decided that Beutrecht would host the so-called Diet of Beutrecht, that included not only member cities of the Guldebond, but also from the other Lindian fiefdoms. While major problems between the Lindian states were resolved through the Diet of Beutrecht, key issues such as monetary policy could not be agreed upon. A second, third and fourth Diet of Beutrecht were held in the years following the first; the latter of which being deemed the most successful as it led to a petition signed by most of the Diet's attendees, requesting that !theUmberguy officially grant the Diet of Beutrecht privileges over the Lindian realm.

In 1416 !theUmberguy recognised the Rijksprivileges (lit. : Realm privileges), which established the States General, as well as the position of. It had delegates representing the free cities and fiefdoms throughout the Lindian realm. In addition to this, !theUmberguy conceded that from that point onward only locals would be eligible for certain administrative positions within cities and fiefdoms, that the States General could convene at any time without hindrance, that the Lindian language would be the only official administrative language within the Lindian realm, and that the finances of the Lindian realm were to be managed by an independent chancellery. In addition to this, he agreed to stay several months of the year in the capital city of Artwingen.

Kingdom
The States General was reformed by King Maximilian I in xxxx. In the early years of the kingdom it mainly served as a body that dealt with state affairs while the monarch was absent. Parliament acted in name of the monarch, and all members of parliament were appointed through royal decree. The size of the States General varied and there was no established meeting location. While political parties did not exist at the time, members of parliament often founded and joined temporary factions.

The role of parliament changed considerably when Lindenholt was affected by the revolutionary wave that swept Vestea in 1853. Riots in the major cities prompted liberal members of parliament to draft and ratify a constitution in-line with the ideals of the revolutionary movement. This liberal constitution considerably reduced the powers of the monarch; members of parliament were to be elected through census suffrage and free speech was guaranteed. In addition, the States General's size was fixed at 100 seats, the separation of powers was established and parliament got the right to remove ministers. The 100 MPs were elected through first-past the post district voting, similar to the system used in Nordal today. Around 1880 the first political parties were founded, the oldest of which being the Liberal Union (Vrijzinnige Bond) which eventually merged in to the Liberal People's Party. The Bewindshof was opened in 1885, giving the States General a permanent place to hold its plenary sessions.

When in 1919 universal suffrage was enacted the parliament was again increased in size - to 150 members. District voting was also abolished, instead the States General would be a proportional representation of the votes cast according to the d'Hondt method. Whereas liberals had dominated the parliament before this time, confessional and social democratic parties quickly grew to become the largest parties as they represented most of the newly enfranchised voters. The heavily pillarized Lindian society made for an electorate that did not easily switch parties, meaning that most pre-war election results had more or less the same outcome. As no single ideology could reach an absolute majority, coalition governments became the norm. This prevented the rise of radical ideologies which did gain a foothold in other Vestean parliaments.

Parliament was suspended during the war, but reconvened directly after the surrender of xxx. Along with preparations for the first post-war elections, plans to repair and modify the existing Bewindshof were made. As the plenary would have to be rebuilt, it was decided that the new design could accommodate a larger number of representatives. The amount of MPs was consequently increased from 150 to 360. As the plenary would almost double in length, a sound system with interruption microphones and speakers were also installed.

Elections and composition
Elections are held when the parliament's four year term expires or when a vote of no confidence is passed against the sitting government. All Lindian citizens over the age of 18 are eligible to vote, provided they are registered as living in a municipality or as a citizen abroad and were not disqualified from voting by a court. Candidates must follow the same criteria as voters, in addition to not being a convicted criminal. Independent or write-in candidates do not exist in Lindenholt, instead a registered party has to put a candidate on their list. Candidates are free to form their own party and participate in elections, however they must either be already represented in parliament, have a number of registered members greater than two thirds of the previous election's electoral quotient or provide the electoral commission with a petition that has a number of signatures greater or equal to two thirds of the previous election's electoral quotient. While there is no electoral threshold, smaller parties often fail to gather enough support to participate in the elections.

Voting happens using a party list system. Candidates are on a nation-wide list that generally has anywhere between 60 and 180 candidates per party. Candidates that receive enough preferential votes to clear the electoral quotient are elected as members of parliament. Any additional votes cast to their name are transferred to the next candidate in the list until they have also reached the required number of votes; this process continues until there are no longer enough votes left. Candidates that clear the electoral quotient through preferential votes are so-called preferential MPs (voorkeurskamerleden), unlike MPs who were elected through the distribution of votes in the party-list system, preferential candidates can retain their seat upon leaving their party.

Preliminary results of the election are often made public over the coarse of the election night. The official results are then presented nine days after the election; the first session of the new parliament takes place two weeks after the election.

The current composition of the States General is a result of the 2017 general elections, which were held after the previous parliament had completed its term.

Parliamentary groups and members
Most members of the States General are part of a parliamentary group (called fractie lit. fraction), usually these are multi-member political parties. Since write-in or independent candidates don't exist in Lindenholt, all initial members of a parliament are members of a parliamentary group led by a whip (fractievoorzitter lit.  fraction chairperson). The whip is most commonly the party's lijsttrekker during elections, however it is common for coalition party lijsttrekkers to take up a cabinet position; these parties' whips are usually other influential MPs.

Members of a parliamentary group can be expelled from their party or leave on their own accord. Leaving MPs will become independent members (eenmansfractie lit. "one-man's-fraction") if they received enough preferential votes to clear the electoral quotient of the previous general election. If the MP in question did not receive enough votes, they will lose their status as MP and an unelected candidate from the party's list replaces them. Such a preferential member of parliament cannot be removed from parliament according to parliamentary procedure unless they are in breach of the requirements that make them eligible for their membership.

Before becoming an MP, candidates to the States General must write a letter of credence to the parliament's Committee on Integrity and Letters of Credence where they declare to be eligible for membership to the parliament. Members of parliament must not already be a member of an other elected body, cannot work in the judicial branch of government, cannot have a criminal record, must be citizens of Lindenholt, must live in Lindenholt, cannot have an other occupation or source of income and must at least be eighteen years of age. If the eligibility of a candidate is confirmed they must swear an oath to be officially appointed as MP.

If multiple independent members choose to form a political party, they will be recognised as a parliamentary group. Independent members, as they are already represented in parliament, can compete in the subsequent election without fulfilling membership or petition requirements that apply to parties which were not represented in parliament.

Presidium
The States General's presidium performs administrative tasks such as preparing the parliament's agenda, managing its budget and other work. The speaker (voorzitter, lit. chairperson) is the presidium's head. The first sessions of a new parliament are to elect members to the presidium. Each parliamentary group can nominate a single MP to the position of speaker. MPs vote with a secret ballot for who they think is best suited for the post. Typically party politics play a small role in this process, as candidates with a long parliamentary history, outstanding achievements or otherwise impactful work are preferred. A coin toss between the top two candidates determines who becomes speaker, with the loser becoming first deputy speaker. Then, the remaining nominees of each parliamentary group become deputy speakers in the order of votes they received.

Unlike in some countries, members of the States General's presidium retain their status as member of their party. However, they may no longer participate in debates while exercising their presidium duties.

Parliamentary committees
In order to carry out its duty to oversee the government, the States General can exercise its constitutional right to conduct a parliamentary inquiry. Such an inquiry can be launched if a motion to do so is passed with a simple majority. When passed, each parliamentary group can appoint a single member as their representative to a parliamentary committee relevant to the inquiry. MPs can only be part of a single committee at a time. Typically, a special parliamentary committee is created for arising issues, however the first session of a new parliament will see the creation of permanent committees that relate to the affairs of the ministries.

It is customary that the chair of a permanent parliamentary committee is an opposition MP who has knowledge or experience with the topic of the relevant committee. Shadow cabinets do not exist in Lindenholt, however the permanent committee chairs can be considered a close alternative.

Parliamentary committees can organise (public) hearings where the participants are under oath. It is a criminal offence for those invited to a parliamentary hearing to not cooperate, commit perjury or be absent without reason. The States General has used their right to inquire more as a means to uncover the truth, rather than for its intended purpose of simply informing the parliament. For the latter goal, the States General has introduced the parliamentary research process; which functions similarly to a parliamentary inquiry sans its legal (and penal) basis.