Grand National Assembly

The Grand National Assembly or simply the Assembly, acts as the legislative branch of the Government of Sordland, creating the nation's laws by passing bills, and (at least, in theory) providing the necessary checks and balances against the power of the Supreme Court and Office of the President.

Under current Constitutional rules, the President has the option to an absolute veto of any decrees by the Assembly. Additionally, since no political party below 10% of total popular vote may hold a seat, the Assembly has come under fire for being much too favorable of the current majority party, USP, as well as far too weak in the overall Sordish government.

Overview
As the legislative branch of the Sordish government, the Assembly is woefully underpowered, and easily overruled by either the President or Supreme Court. This is obviously a horrific oversight on the part of Tarquin Soll, the man responsible for the current Constitution, considering that the Assembly is intended to be the most democratic aspect of the Government of Sordland.

Nevertheless, the Assembly still holds some sway over Sordish politics, and could potentially become the adminstrative body it was intended to be if a Reformist Rayne so chooses. Then again, he could just as easily stifle the branch even further, effectively removing it from Sordish politics altogether.

Structure
The Assembly is similar to the Parliaments of many real nations across the globe, allowing for multiple political parties to run and obtain seats. There are 250 seats overall, with each MP being elected directly by the Sordish people. Once these members are selected, they convene internally to elect one among their number as Speaker of the House (who typically belongs to the majority party).

However, this process is not as straightforward as it may seem, due to several wrinkles put in place by Soll. These are as follows:


 * A political party must meet a 10% threshold to gain seats in the Assembly: In order for a party to actually gain any seats, they must secure at least 10% of the popular vote. This policy was likely put in place by Soll to ensure his own party, the USP, easily remains the majority party in the Assembly. However, if this requirement was to be reduced by a certain recently-elected President, other parties could quickly gain more traction, such as the smaller PJFP and NFP. In fact, if the amount is decreased further, much smaller parties, such as the Worker's Party of Bludia and Sordish Communist Party could potentially enter the Assembly. Regardless of path, this is sure to become a point of contention, especially if the Constitution is to be revised.
 * Seats are divided proportionally among the parties that pass the threshold: Again, another measure put in place by Soll to weaken opposition parties.

Integration in Sordish Politics
Serving as the legislature of the Sordish government, this branch has few balances and numerous checks, which combine to stymie the branch as a whole. Unable to counter the sweeping powers of the Executive branch, and easily bypassed by the misallocated legislative power of the Supreme Court (yet another authoritarian policy courtesy of Soll), it is largely powerless, existing mainly to be seen rather than heard.

Even so, the institution could very well gain the position it deserves if Rayne so wills it, and truly act as the representative body it was always meant to be for the Sordish people. This is but one of the myriad choices Rayne must make, and, regardless of the path he chooses, will impact Sordland for decades (and, ideally, centuries) to come.

Political parties
These are political parties that, as of the 1953 elections, are past the 10% threshold and have seats in the Assembly:

United Sordland Party (leading with 52 seats)

People's Freedom and Justice Party (second largest party, with 28 seats)

National Front Party (third largest party, with 16 seats)

Independents (these are people voted into the Assembly who did not pledge to a party. They are not subject to the 10% threshold. They hold only 4 seats)