The Government of the Republic of Covanellis is comprised of 5 major working parts - the Presidency, the Representative Council (also known as the Polta), the Allyrās and the Śennās, and the 12 Tomnas. Each of these assemblies play an individual and important role in the passage of laws and protection of the democratic process of Covanellis.
The Presidency
The seat of the Presidency is held by the President of the Republic of Covanellis. This seat is elected every 5 years via direct, universal suffrage, and an individual may be elected to the presidency for a maximum of 3 terms. The responsibilities of the President are numerous, and include promulgating acts of parliament or requesting a reopening of debate on an Act or any section of an Act, submitting certain kinds of Bills to referendum, dissolving the Allyrās, sign and issue decrees, appointing various civil posts and ambassadors and acting as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Special Intelligence Service.
The Representative Council (Polta)
The Representative Council is comprised of 9 members, who each hold a non-renewable office on the Council of 9 years. Three of these members are appointed by the President of the Republic, three are appointed by the President of the Allyrās, and three are appointed by the President of the Śennās, and one third of the Representative Council is appointed every 3 years. In addition to these 9 members, all ex-Presidents of the Republic become lifelong members of the Council. The key roles of the Council of Representatives is to ensure the proper conduct of the elections, of the President of the Republic while sitting in office, and of the members of the Allyrās, Śennās and the 12 Tomnas. The Representative Council also makes deliberations on the constitutionality of laws passed by the houses of Parliament and to actions taken against them by any of the Tomnas prior to any complaints about these functions proceeding to the Supreme Court.
The Allyrās
The function of the Allyrās is similar to that of the lower house of Parliament in many other countries. It is in this House that the Government is formed and in which the Prime Minister of the Republic sits, and is comprised of 351 members. Bills are drafted, debated and voted on first within the Allyrās before being sent to the Śennās, and while the Śennās may make recommendations on a bill or may implore certain action by the Government in the Allyrās, there is no obligation for this to occur or be acknowledged. This House is elected via direct suffrage - that is, the members are elected directly by the people who live in their electoral seat, via a preferential voting system. This means voters can indicate all candidates standing in a seat in order of their preference. The votes of the candidate who receives the least first preference votes are then distributed in a series of rounds, until one candidate is awarded the majority of votes.
The Śennās
The function of the Śennās is similar to that of the upper house of Parliament in many other countries. This house comprised of 101 members, and is responsible for making recommendations to the Allyrās on bills that are being debated currently, as well as voting on bills which have passed the Allyrās before they go on to be signed and promulgated by the President. In contrast to the Allyrās, the Śennās is elected via a system of indirect suffrage, meaning that instead of voting for individual members, voters vote on parties as a whole, via a preferential voting system. The seats in the Śennās are then awarded proportionally according to the composition of first preference votes. Where a party fails to gain a percentage of the vote sufficient for one seat (approximately 1%), their votes are redistributed to the second preference indicated by the voter, and so on until all votes have been awarded. In addition to this, while the entire Allyrās is elected every 5 years, the Śennās is elected in halves, with one half elected on the same day as members of the Allyrās, and the other half elected 2.5 years following that.
The Tomnas
Alongside these two houses of parliament are the 12 Tomnas. Each Tomna is comprised of 25 members, who are elected from among members of the relevant Tomnic Guild. These Tomnic Guilds are comprised of all registered sectorial advocates within a specific industry or industries, for example agriculture or education, although is generally limited to academic roles within that industry. Registration as a sectorial advocate occurs once an individual obtains their tertiary qualification in the relevant field and becomes a member of that industry. The Tomnas do not always have a function in the passage of laws within the republic, however they hold an important right to veto the outcome of a vote on a law in either the Allyrās, the Śennās, or both, where academic evidence exists to suggest that elements of that law are unscientific or based on flawed premises. The Tomnas can also provide policy advice to lawmakers in the Allyrās and Śennās, as well as to the President himself, and have several other important functions.