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.

History
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 623 representatives representing the free cities and fiefdoms throughout the Lindian realm. In addition to this, he conceded that from that point onward a council of Lindians would be present at his court to advise him on "Lindian matters", that only the locals of a fiefdom or city would be eligible for certain administrative positions, that the States General could convene at any time without hindrance, that the Lindian language would be the only official administrative and governmental language within the Lindian realm, and that the finances of the Lindian realm were to be managed by an independent chancellery.

Elections
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 that they are registered as living in a municipality or as a citizen abroad. An exception is made for those who have been disqualified 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 require a minimum of 10,000 registered party members, representation with at least one member in a provincial parliament or a petition that has as many signatures as the previous election's electoral quotient.

Voting happens using a party list system. Candidates are either registered per district (with ballots in each district having a maximum of 5 local candidates per party), or they are on a nation-wide (with a maximum of 50 candidates). Candidates that receive enough preferential votes to clear the electoral quotient (number of total votes cast, divided by the number of seats) are elected as members of parliament. Any additional votes cast to their name are transferred to the next candidate in line until they have also reached the required number of votes; this process continues until there are no longer enough votes left to clear the electoral quotient. Parties are free to decide the order in which the votes are distributed, although most commonly the nation-wide candidates come first, followed by local candidates. It is important to note that while local candidates are displayed separately on the ballot, they are technically part of the same list as the national candidates and that no real distinction is made between local or national members of parliament.

The results of the elections are usually made public on the night of the election and in some cases in the morning after. The results must have been verified and made official before the Tuesday after the election, which is when the new parliament goes in to session.