Dawnland National Committee
| Dawnland National Committee | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Motto: Prosperity | |||||
| Composition | |||||
| Members | 395 members | ||||
| Demonym | National Committee Member | ||||
| History | |||||
| New Order of Structure Ratified | September 19th, 1619 | ||||
| First Session Held | March 10th, 1620 | ||||
| Leadership | |||||
| |||||
| Location | Gardenia Dawnlinian Gardenia Building | ||||
| Type | National Legislature | ||||
| Minister of Legislature | Franklin Raymond | ||||
| Majority Party Leader | Emma Todd | ||||
| Orange Party Leader | Bill Blokx | ||||
| Branches Party Leader | Hunter Joseph | ||||
| Elections | |||||
| Last Election | February 28th, 2019 | ||||
| Next Election | February 28th, 2021 | ||||
| Party Composition | Majority: Green Party (192) Minorities: Orange Party (106) Branches Party (63) Bulldog Party (22) Lindsayan Delegates (12) | ||||
| Requirements | |||||
| Minimum Age | 18 years | ||||
| Election Requirement | Simple majority by municipality | ||||
| Website | nationalcommittee.gov.oct[1] | ||||
This page regards the national bicameral legislature of New Dawn, and is not to be confused with the New Dawn Congress, the upper house of the National Committee.
The Dawnland National Committee is the national bicameral legislature of New Dawn, a country located in northeast Asper. It consists of two houses, the upper house being the New Dawn Congress and the lower house being the Dawnland National Assembly. The National Committee currently meets in Gardenia, and consists of 395 members, with 125 being members of the National Assembly, and 270 being members of the Congress. Excluding Lindsayan delegates, representatives in each house are chosen by direct elections, with each of the country's sixteen municipalities being granted seven representatives to the National Assembly, as well as being granted sixteen representatives each to the Congress. The 13 remaining representatives in the National Assembly include 7 representatives from Lindsaya to represent the country in the New Dawn legislature, as well as 6 representatives from the Border Peninsula Region, which is not currently divided into municipalities. Similarly, Congress's remaining 14 representatives include 5 representatives from Lindsaya, and 9 representatives from the border peninsula region. All Lindsaya delegates are currently non-voting members.
Members of the National Assembly serve three year terms, while members of Congress serve six year terms. There are term limits in place, so that representatives may only serve three terms, though the Minister of Legislature may stay in office as long as they are supported by the Committee and are reelected. Elections are held on New Dawn Polling Day, with elections being staggered so that half of all representatives are up for election in a given three or six year period. If a politician desires to run for representative, they may only represent the municipality which they live in, and voters may only vote for officials from the municipality the voter lives in. The Minister of Legislature is originally chosen by a nationwide majority vote. After this original vote, the Minister must retain the majority of the National Committee's support to remain as Minister of Legislature. Otherwise, a vote of the Committee can trigger a new national election for the position. The Minister of Legislature is the leader of the National Committee, just as the President is leader of the executive branch.
The National Committee was first formed in 1619, after the New Order of Structure was proposed by Dawn Ashley, and ratified by the independent cities. Only the National Assembly existed until 1765, when Congress was instituted as a check on the power of the National Assembly as a whole and the Minister of Legislature. National Committee members must be citizens of New Dawn, meaning among other things that representatives are over the age of 18. Representatives are usually members of one of the country's main political parties, those being the Green Party, the Orange Party, the Branches Party, and the Bulldog Party, though to a lesser extent than the first three.
Contents
Legislative Basis
History
Formation and First Period (1620-1765)
The Dawnland National Committee was first formed with the formation of New Dawn itself in 1619. The Empire of the New Dawn had dissolved in 1598, leaving Dawnland divided and composed of individual cities such as Gardenia and Oceanside, along with many others. In 1619 however, Dawn Ashley's use of diplomacy and commerce united most of the independent cities, who came together in Gardenia to ratify the New Order of Structure, which created the National Committee and appointed Dawn Ashley as first Consul. Soon after, the first elections were held in the country, though only rich landowners were included in these elections, and many of them were won by bribes and prominence in society. In 1620 the First Dawnland National Committee, also known as the Ashley National Committee of New Dawn, convened, marking the body's first meeting. Only the National Assembly existed at the time, and there were only 100 members.
The 1620's to 1650's were marked by dominance in government by Dawn Ashley and her supporters in the National Assembly, called the Proconsul Alliance. They make numerous moves towards centralization, focusing on creating national identity with plays, operas, and other cultural actions. The Ashley Assembly also focused on freeing slaves across the country, centralizing banks and standardizing currency, and calling up both the military and diplomats to take action to secure the country's borders. During the 1620's, the military and diplomats mobilized to secure the border with Bymaria, the United Lands of Southia, and the disorganized Lindsayan lands.
With the death of Dawn Ashley in 1651, the Committee moved towards greater partisanship and diversity, with the Proconsul Alliance morphing into the Branches Party, and the opposition party becoming the Orange Party. The Assembly continued to be bipartisan for the rest of the period, with focuses being placed on reducing the Consul's power, and increasing the power of the Minister of Legislature. Greater leadership began to come from the National Assembly than from the executive, and major focus was placed during this period on foreign affairs, including the First Lindsayan Independent Wars, the Dawnlinian-Lindsayan River War, and the Treaty of Fleur War, which occurred during the period of 1669-1704. Commerce was also extremely important, with many in the National Assembly advocating for a more capitalist way of commerce, as before this the government had great control over commerce. In 1710 the Consul became the President of New Dawn, a name change that came with no additional changes to power or responsibilities. After the Second Lindsayan-New Dawn Wars and the War for the Lillies, the National Committee changed drastically in the 1750's, moving towards greater balance between the executive, legislative, and Minister of Legislature. In 1765 this change was reflected by the creation of the New Dawn Congress, which added 270 new members, and ended the first period.
Second Period (1765-1840)
During the second period of the National Committee, voting was first extended to all citizens, except those in what is today the New Dawn Border Peninsula and those still serving life debts or enslavements. Though slavery was abolished in the 1600's, many freed slaves made ill-advised agreements with wealthy landowners in something called the Benedieu System. In the second period, the main focus was on industrialization, with the Orange Party and Branches Party supporting it heavily, and the Bulldog Party opposing industrialization, wanting to focus more on existing commerce. In the National Committee around 1810, Minister of Legislature Sarah Garfield became one of the most powerful post-1765 Ministers of Legislature, pushing industry ahead and presiding over the New Dawn-Lindsayan Fur War, the final war between the two countries. Garfield is also well known for refusing to abolish the Benedieu system, however, with her Branches Party supporting the system. Finally, the second period ended in 1840, when President Kyle Ulbricht, with advice from Julia Matthews and the newly formed Green Party, abolished the Benedieu system.
Third Period (1840-1900)
The third period began in 1840 with the Green Party emerging as a major party for the first time, though the Orange and Branches parties still dominated affairs. The Orange Party held the majority until 1856, when the First New Southian War began between the forces of New Dawn and Lindsaya against the United Villages of Southia, as a result of the Northern-Southian Territorial Dispute. The war was largely unpopular, and though New Dawn gained the disputed territory, thousands of citizens were killed or taken as slaves, and the brutal nature of the war led to the fall of the Orange Party from power in the Committee, and the rise of a coalition between the Green, Branches, and Bulldog parties. This period after the war was one of the most politically fragile in history, as the Minister of Legislature required part of each party to retain a majority and stay in power, and the President had trouble finding compromise. Nonetheless, commerce and industry in the country continued to prosper, and at the end of the period the beginnings of an alliance with Lindsaya were formed, with the first Lindsayan delegates to the committee arriving in 1896. Though they weren't permanent, they were the first to take part in politics in New Dawn.
