Christoté is structured in a five-tiered manner. At the bottom the people, then Praetors, then Emissaries (for rural areas) and Councils (for urban ones), then Barons, then the Chancellor. The last four, who hold political power of varying degree, are all elected by the tier immediately below them, except for Emissaries/Councils, who are elected by the people in general, not just Praetors. The electoral process only travels one tier, and doesn't flow downwards (i.e. the Chancellor has no say who is a Baron), it being political power's job to do that.
Juxtaposed with the electoral system is the fact that Christoté is a federation of seven Provinces, each controlled by their respective Baron-Elector. As well as having the authority to decide who is Chancellor, each Province has a fair degree of autonomy, and most major laws must be ratified by a Province before they are accepted in their area. Central government rests in Huwdone House in Jalkin and comes in two parts; the Chancellor and his/her Privy Council, and the legislative gathering of lower tiers (Parliament for Emissaries and Councillors, Council for the Barons). Provinces are divided into Wards in rural areas, each controlled by an Emissary, and towns over a certain size, run by a Council. Praetors (who have no formal seat in Huwdone House) administer even smaller areas, usually individual villages or neighbourhoods.
Elections
The following types of secular elections held across the federation are:
1. Chancellorship Selection - the seven
Barons choosing the Chancellor
2. Federal Elections -
Emissaries/Barons of a province voting for their Baron
3. Emissarial Elections - The
people electing their Emissaries/Councillors
4. The Barley Votes - People
electing their praetors
5. Juridical Elections - Another
popular vote, held every 10 years, 4th year of each decade. Vote
for the judges to sit on the local courts - minimum 1 popularly elected judge
to sit on each case (no's vary 2-5
depending on seriousness of case; where odd no. popularly elected judges must be in majority). NB1: Juridical boundaries officially
supposed to be the same as political ones
with a court in each ward though things are more tangled in reality. NB2: Other
judges are chosen from local lawyers and barristers selecting from within their
own ranks, officially subject
to Emissary approval. Magistrates to
supervise the courts are also elected.
6. Emissaries/Councillors voting
for judges to sit on federal courts?
The full elective process is carried out once a decade. Emissaries/Councillors, Barons and the Chancellor are voted for on the ninth and tenth year of the decade and the first year of the next decade respectively (e.g. 1328, 1329 & 1330). They also have the right to hold elections at any other time and in certain regions (including the Cities) it is customary to hold additional elections five years after the main one. In the case of elections for Emissaries, a full list of candidates must be supplied and publicly circulated three months before the elections are held. Both Barons and praetors are expected to investigate all potential candidates and, though they have no right of veto, may publish any findings about their past etc. The right to both stand for and vote for an Emissary is given to all full citizens of Christoté over the age of seventeen, providing they aren't insane or in prison. However, they must also be male if voting in Zabrial or Notruf. The current residents officially registered in a ward or town select a candidate for their area of residence; transients must vote in their home area. Certain public buildings are designated polling booths, and voters must turn up in person and present their residence seal, which is then recorded on a register. They then vote, in secret, for a candidate - a single Emissary, if in rural areas, and for one Councillor per post if in towns. (The same mechanisms apply for the elections of praetors). Polls are usually held open for several days in rural areas to allow for the distances some have to travel, although a polling booth is generally set up in each village. The timing of praetor elections is far vaguer. The maximum period of office varies from province to province, between 2 and 7 years; some hold out for as long as possible but it is more usual for elections to be held annually.
Making laws
Major laws have to be passed by both the Barons and the Emissaries before becoming statute. A Confederacy Bill is usually drawn up by the Chancellor/Privy Council though also directly by the Barons and is intended to apply across the Confederacy. It will first be discussed by the Barons at their Estates, a gathering of the seven which takes place in Huwdone House's Long Room. There is no set time when the Estates meet; it is on the Baron's own inclination or at the "request" of the Chancellor. The Estates is intended primarily for discussion of the bill, informing of the reasoning and situation behind it etc. At the end of the Estates each Baron is to declare their support or opposition of the bill; they cannot be forced to accept it, either by their fellows or by the Chancellor, but their declaration must be made public, both to the Chancellor and to the Emissaries of their province. Each province also holds regional assemblies, headed by the Baron, on a regular basis. The proposed new law, if it has been accepted by a Baron, is then voted for by the Emissaries, generally carried by an overall majority (the Baron has a vote and can theoretically veto a bill, albeit only in emergency cases). The bill then becomes law in that province. The Emissaries can also force a Baron to reconsider any bills which he rejected at the Estates, though still can't get him to accept it and bring it to the assembly. If accepted unanimously across Christoté it is called a federal law. Rejection by either Estates or assemblies may cause some bills to be postponed, redrawn or completely abandoned by the Chancellor; however it isn't always seen as necessary for them to apply uniformly and they may just press ahead in the provinces which go for it (the Chancellor may later propose mini-Estates to put the idea again to resisting Barons). A Confederacy Bill which becomes only partially passed is called a tributary law for some reason.
Other laws may be drawn up and passed solely by individual Barons and their regional assemblies, only intended to apply to that province. These are called Provincial Bills. There is a very strict list of what may be deemed solely provincial territory and what must be run through the Estates/Confederacy route, partly for security reasons and more innocently just to stop Christoté drifting in too many different directions. Individual Emissaries can propose provincial laws themselves and either try to sell the Baron on them (sometimes literally - a fine source of corruption) or submit them straight to the assembly. The Chancellor may block any bill being passed if it is deemed a security risk; a potentially limitless category but doing this would dangerously antagonise the Barons and it is rarely used. More genteelly they may try and persuade Emissaries or Barons to vote a certain way by attending the regional assemblies and using anything from an army of statistics to sheer oration. As the assemblies are held, well, in different regions, attendance of them may be impractical for a Chancellor, one reason why Parliament is important.
There are four main sources from which a bill can be introduced.
1. Privy Bill. Generally proposed by the Chancellor, one of the Huwdone House Offices or the Privy Council, and voted for by 50% of the Privy Council. Privy Councillors are then obliged not to vote against it, though they can abstain or speak against it. The Barons are also obliged to discuss and vote on it in their Estates. Most successful Confederacy Bills stem from this source.
2. Bill of Prerogative. Introduced by the Chancellor and either rejected by or not submitted to the Privy Council. It must also be voted on by the Estates etc., but is less authoritative than a Privy Bill and often ends up getting thrown out. Both the above are almost always Confederacy Bills. Unspoken protocol tends to dictate how many get submitted by the Chancellor each year (if the Chancellor pushes it, Barons generally just vote against everything before them).
3. Monarchal Bill. Introduced by a Baron. Generally Provincial, but also sometimes Confederacy.
4. Bill of Conscience. Introduced by an Emissary. Almost always Provincial, but if the Emissary gets the sponsorship of a Baron, a Confederacy one could be attempted. Said sponsorship is important in any case. In theory all Provincial bills must be submitted to debate/vote in the relevant Regional Assembly, but pressure of time restricts the actual number. Privy/Prerogative Bills must be selected first but after that a Baron chooses the order; so can sideline a bill if he wants.
Parliament, held in Hall in Huwdone House is intended to be everything rolled into one; the Estates, the regional assemblies, the church councils where relevant, the hearing room for committee investigations and moves of censure to be read etc. Generally Confederacy Bills alone are voted for at Parliament. The proceedings operate on the same lines as above, the Barons declaring their intention after consultation with one another and the proposals then submitted to the Emissaries; the hall is split into seven parts (there aren't partition walls or anything, it's just where people sit) and the vote is cast. As a rule the Baron has worked out with his Emissaries which way they will vote in advance, though it isn't always handled very smoothly. If a bill is voted in and the Baron isn't blocking it then it becomes law; not all Emissaries or their proxies may have been at Parliament when it happened but the rule is, it is treated as regional assembly approval so they can go and whistle. The Chancellor usually prefers to use Parliament not only because they can personally argue for/against it but can easily target those in each of the assemblies supports their line and get them to argue their case - debate of each bill is intended and can be extensive.
The public has the right to view all the debates and votes at both Parliament and the separate regional assemblies; special public galleries have been built at the buildings where such events are regularly hosted. On several days each year people may also submit questions to the politicians; mostly, though, they are expected to be an audience only. (A certain amount of heckling and barracking is usually tolerated and ignored). In addition, people may purchase the minutes from the meetings held. The Barons Estates are restricted to the public, if held away from Parliament, but again a very sketchy outline of the meetings can be bought from Huwdone House.
When a new law is passed, Emissaries/Councils must issue notice of it - usually done by sticking notices up on set places, most commonly outside town halls or in market places. When a Confederacy Bill is passed, in addition, Huwdone House always announces it in Parliament Square in person through their official herald (the Marble Messenger), and puts posters on the noticeboard by the side of Huwdone's doors.
Warfare
One of the central tenets of the Christotan constitution is that it will never seek to be the aggressor against another nation, nor try to capture another's territory. It has obeyed this surprisingly well over the centuries and has rarely been engaged in open warfare. (It has a less perfect record when it comes to covert forms). The main exception was the Ten Years War, when Christoté was invaded by Labland. The end of the war and the annexing of part of eastern Labland, marked the first expansion of Christoté since the Treaty of Wasseldale - and the Annexed Lands are only supposed to be a temporary measure.
All major actions regarding foreign nations must be ratified by both the Chancellor and the Barons Estates, and unlike usual all eight must chose it for the action to continue. In some circumstances it is then submitted to the Regional Assemblies but in others, as with the Labbish invasion, it is simply adopted. In times of warfare a body called the Committee for the Defence of the Confederacy comes to the fore and tends to overrule all the usual channels. The Defence Committee is composed of the seven Barons, the Chancellor, the heads of Huwdone's Federation and Ambassador's offices and the Guards Central Command.