Politics of Merrifort

Since the first ever Constitution in 1598 was signed and recently updated in 1966, Merrifort has been a parliamentary federal republic.

History
See also: History of Merrifort

When Merrifort declared its independence from Barborican Empire in 1598, a king became the head of state and of government, elected by representatives from each of the provinces. Each representative was chosen by the provincial citizens, and it was usually the smartest person who could read and write. In 1612, King Charles the II made himself King of Merrifort. In 1765, after Milo Barker’s Invasion of Merrifort, the charge of Emperor was established. With the removal of the old constitution and signing of the new constitution in 1962, the Emperor lost most of his political power and the charge of Supreme Chairman was added. In 1966, charge of President and other charges were added and Merrifort became a republic.

Prime Minister
The Prime minister is the most important charge in the country. He (or she) is the head of Government and holds the most political power. The Prime Minister gets elected every four years and may only serve 2 times consecutively, or 1 non consecutive term. The current Prime Minister is Adrian Vandreck.

President
The President served as the acting Head of State of the country and acted like a "second house of government". Rights included the ability to veto any laws passed by Congress, though rare, proposing and amending bills. The president was the second most important charge in the country, and was elected every six years. The most recent and also the last president was Gert Henneman, elected in 2008.

Queen
The Queen is the Head of State of the country. She has the right to declare war and make peace (on the consent of the Congress), and she may, at any moment, dismiss the Prime Minister if they are not acting in the interests of the nation or if they betray or try to harm the government.

Congress
Congress is the legislative and executive body of government. According to the Constitution of 1802, the Congress is to be "made up of lawfully elected citizens, chosen by popular consent to govern each of the Parishes". The Congress is a unicameral chamber made up of 12 senators, each of which represents a Parish, and 100 representatives, elected nationally, who represent the people. Congress may, and has, remove(d) a Prime Minister in non-confidence votes, with those occurring with more frequency in the last 10 years.

Political Parties
Brunant has several political parties from all over the spectrum. Currently, the main parties with seats in Congress are:
 * NLWM
 * SRWM
 * IP