South American Parliament
The South American Parliament is a proposed body of the Union of South American Nations. The 2004 Cusco Declaration, announcing the USAN's formation, called for the establishment of a USAN parliament; the 2008 UNASUR Constitutive Treaty confirmed its intended establishment, but does not list it with the other bodies, does not give any details on its composition. Article 17 states that the Parliament would be located in Cochabamba and its creation would be subjected to an additional protocol. A transitory article of the Treaty states how this protocol would be created: members will appoint a "Special Commission" composed of national and regional Members of Parliament who would meet in Cochabamba to draft the protocol, pending to be considered at the Fourth Summit of Unasur leaders; the protocol would lay out composition of the Parliament. During these summits the presidents would hold meetings on energy, infrastructure and social policies, in addition to defining a transitional formula until the full force of the treaty, which must still be approved by legislatures, comes into effect.
Foreign ministers are to meet every six months. The Parliament will have ninety-nine parliamentarians; each country will delegate up to five parliamentarians, more than the Andean Parliament's members, of the Mercosur Parliament and of the parliaments of Guyana and Suriname. The presidents of the legislative bodies of each member country of the Unasur will integrate it, it will have a routine of consistent operation in two annual meetings: the first in June and the second in November, although extraordinary meetings could be convened. The Parliament of the Unasur will have commissions and sub-committees and vice-presidencies and sub-secretaries. All the pronouncements of the Parliament of the Unasur will be published in an official newspaper that will be created for such purpose. Powers are to be delegated to the Parliament, in order for it to consolidate the democracy in the region, to establish cooperative relationships among the member countries, to issue declarations and make recommendations, to foster the development of the representative democracy and to be in charge of the sub-organisations and institutions of Unasur.
The South American Parliament has the task of leading the development and implementation, in coordination with the Bank of the South, of a new single South American currency, to be in circulation throughout the region. Thus the Bank of the South, based in Venezuela and sub-offices in Buenos Aires and La Paz, in conjunction with the General Secretariat, based in Quito, now with the South American Parliament, based in Cochabamba, is to seek economic and social well being throughout the continent and to advance the goal of establishing a future "Ciudadano Americano". Other agreements would enable the citizens of the twelve countries to move within the UNASUR area with only the National Identity Document of each country; the Bolivian government has launched the start of construction of the Parliament building with an area of 200 hectares in the Valle Alto area. A specialized military academy located in the same area is to preserve the security of Parliament. Mercosur Parliament Latin American Parliament Latin American and Caribbean Congress in Solidarity with Puerto Rico’s Independence
Plurinational Legislative Assembly
The Plurinational Legislative Assembly is the national legislature of Bolivia, placed in La Paz, the country's seat of government. The assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper house; the Vice President of Bolivia serves as the President of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. Each house elects its own directorate: a President and second Vice Presidents, three or four Secretaries; each party is said to have a seat consisting of its parliamentarians. The representatives of each department comprise a brigade; each house considers legislation in standing committees. The Senate has 36 seats; each of the country's nine departments returns four senators elected by proportional representation. Senators are elected from party lists to serve five-year terms, the minimum age to hold a Senate seat is 35 years; the Chamber of Deputies comprises 130 seats, elected using the additional member system: 70 deputies are elected to represent single-member electoral districts, 7 of which are Indigenous or Campesino seats elected by the usos y costumbres of minority groups, 60 are elected by proportional representation from party lists on a departmental basis.
Deputies serve five-year terms, must be aged at least 25 on the day of the election. Party lists are required to alternate between men and women, in the single-member districts, men are required to run with a female alternate, vice versa. At least 50% of the deputies from single-member districts are required to be women. Both the senate, the proportional part of the Chamber of Deputies is elected based on the vote for the presidential candidates, while the deputies from the single-member districts are elected separately; the legislative body was known as the National Congress. The 2010–2015 Plurinational Legislative Assembly were controlled in both houses by the governing Movement for Socialism, elected with a 2/3 supermajority. Just four incumbent members of the 2005–2010 Congress returned: Deputy Antonio Franco; as part of a break between the MAS-IPSP and its ally the Without Fear Movement, the latter party's four deputies, elected on the MAS slate pledged in late March 2010, "to act in accord with our political identity, with our conscience, with the people who elected us with their vote."
MAS-IPSP now has 84 members in the Chambers of Deputies, while the MSM has four. Congressional elections were held as part of general elections on 9 December 2009. After the votes were counted, party strengths in Congress were as follows: The President of the Senate, elected on 19 January 2010, is Ana María Romero de Campero. Seventeen of 36 members of the Senate are women; the 26-member MAS-IPSP majority includes all four senators from La Paz and Potosí. The President of the Chamber of Deputies, elected on 19 January 2010, is Héctor Arce. 33 of 130 deputies are women. Congressional elections were held on 18 December 2005, concurrently with the 2005 presidential election; the Chamber of Deputies had the following leadership: President Edmundo Novillo Aguilar. Congressional elections were held on 30 June 2002. After the votes were counted, party strengths in Congress were as follows: The next election was scheduled to take place in June 2007, but was brought forward to December 2005 on a decision from interim President Eduardo Rodríguez.
The two chambers of Congress meet in the legislative palace located on Plaza Murillo, La Paz's main city-centre square. Plaza Murillo is flanked by the presidential palace and the cathedral of Nuestra Señora de La Paz. Prior to becoming the seat of the legislature in 1904, the congress building had, at different times, housed a convent and a university; the Vice-President, in his capacity as President of Congress, has an imposing suite of offices on Calle Mercado in central La Paz. The building, designed by Emilio Villanueva, was erected during the 1920s and was intended to serve as the headquarters of Bolivia's central bank. Under Jaime Paz Zamora's 1989–1993 presidency, the building was reassigned to the vice-presidency, but the vice-presidential staff did not relocate until major reconstruction and renovation work, starting in 1997, had been carried out; the Library of Congress and the National Congressional Archive are located on the premises. List of members of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia, 1997–2002 List of members of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia, 2002–2005 List of members of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia, 2005–2009 List of members of the Chamber of Senators of Bolivia, 1997–2002 Li
Paul Somohardjo
Paul Slamet Somohardjo is a Surinamese politician of Javanese descent. On 30 June 2005, Somohardjo was the Chairman of the National Assembly, he served until June 2010, he is chairman of the Pertjajah Luhur party. As of 2016 he is the oldest parliamentarian in the National Assembly. Politics of Suriname
Politics of Suriname
Politics of Suriname take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the president of Suriname is the head of state and head of government, of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government; the executive power is dependent on the parliament. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly; the judiciary is independent of the legislature. The executive branch is headed by the president, elected by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly or, failing that twice, by a majority of the People's Assembly for a 5-year term. If at least two-thirds of the National Assembly cannot agree to vote for one presidential candidate, a People's Assembly is formed from all National Assembly delegates and regional and municipal representatives who were elected by popular vote in the most recent national election; the Vice President elected at the same time as the president, is elected for a 5-year term, the same way as the president.
As head of government, the president appoints a cabinet of ministers who are led in their day-to-day activities by the Vice President. There is no constitutional provision for replacement of the president unless he resigns. A 15-member State Advisory Council advises the president in the conduct of policy. Eleven of the 15 council seats are allotted by proportional representation of all political parties represented in the National Assembly; the president chairs the council, two seats are allotted to representatives of labor, two are to employers' organizations. The Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president; the legislative branch of government consists of a 51-member unicameral National Assembly and popularly elected for a 5-year term. Suriname elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature; the president is elected for a five-year term by an electoral college based on the parliament. The National Assembly has 51 members, elected every five years by proportional representation per district.
The judiciary is headed by the Court of Justice. This court supervises the magistrate courts. Members are appointed for life by the president in consultation with the National Assembly, the State Advisory Council, the National Order of Private Attorneys; the country is divided into 10 administrative districts, each headed by a district commissioner appointed by the president. The commissioner serves at the president's pleasure; the 10 districts are.
Districts of Suriname
Suriname is divided into 10 districts. The country was first divided up into subdivisions by the Dutch on October 8, 1834, when a Royal Decree declared that there were to be 8 divisions and 2 districts: Upper Suriname and Torarica Para Upper Commewijne Upper Cottica and Perica Lower Commewijne Lower Cottica Matapica Saramacca Coronie Nickerie The divisions were areas near the capital city and the districts were areas further away from the city. In 1927, Suriname's districts were revised, the country was divided into 7 districts. In 1943, 1948, 1949, 1952 and 1959 further small modifications were made. On October 28, 1966, the districts were redrawn again, into Nickerie Coronie Saramacca Brokopondo Para Suriname Paramaribo Commewijne MarowijneThese divisions remained until 1980, when yet again, the borders of the districts were redrawn, with the following requirements: Changes in the old boundaries were made only if it leads to improved functioning Each area should be developed The new boundaries should respect the identities of indigenous people.
The districts created in 1980 remain to this day. ISO 3166-2:SR Resorts of Suriname List of Caribbean First-level Subdivisions by Total Area "Districts of Suriname". Statoids
National Congress of Brazil
The National Congress of Brazil is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government. Unlike the state Legislative Assemblies and Municipal Chambers, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies; the Congress meets annually in Brasília, from 2 February to 27 July and from 1 August to 22 December. The Senate represents the Federal District; each state and the Federal District has a representation of three Senators, who are elected by popular ballot for a term of eight years. Every four years, renewal of either one third or two-thirds of the Senate takes place; the Chamber of Deputies represents the people of each state, its members are elected for a four-year term by a system of proportional representation. Seats are allotted proportionally according to each state's population, with each state eligible for a minimum of 8 seats and a maximum of 70 seats. Unlike the Senate, the whole of the Chamber of Deputies is renewed every four years; until it was common for politicians to switch parties and the proportion of congressional seats held by each party would change.
However, a decision of the Supreme Federal Court has ruled that the seats belong to the parties and not to the politicians, that one can only change parties and retain his seat in a limited set of cases. Politicians who abandon the party for which they were elected now face the loss of their Congressional seat; each house of the Brazilian Congress elects its President and the other members of its directing board from among its members. The President of the Senate is ex officio the President of the National Congress, in that capacity summons and presides over joint sessions, as well as over the joint services of both Houses; the President of the Chamber is second in the presidential line of succession while the President of the Senate is third. The current composition of the Board of the National Congress is as follows: The Federal Senate is the upper house of the National Congress. Created by the first Constitution of the Brazilian Empire in 1824, it was inspired in United Kingdom's House of Lords, but with the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889 it became closer to the United States Senate.
The Senate comprises 81 seats. Three Senators from each of the 26 states and three Senators from the Federal District are elected on a majority basis to serve eight-year terms. Elections are staggered so that two-thirds of the upper house is up for election at one time and the remaining one-third four years later; when one seat is up for election in each State, each voter casts one vote for the Senate. The candidate in each State and the Federal District who achieve the greatest plurality of votes are elected; the Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the National Congress, it is composed of 513 federal deputies, who are elected by a proportional representation of votes to serve a four-year term. Seats are allotted proportionally according to each state's population, with each state eligible for a minimum of 8 seats and a maximum of 70 seats. In 2010, 22 out of the country's 35 political parties were able to elect at least one representative in the Chamber, while fifteen of them were able to elect at least one Senator.
See the Latest election section for election results table. In early 1900s, the Brazilian National Congress happened to be in separate buildings; the Senate was located near Railway Central Station, beside the Republica Square, at Moncorvo Filho Street, where there is today a Federal University of Rio de Janeiro students' center. The Federal Chamber of Deputies was located at Misericórdia Street, which would be the location of the State of Rio de Janeiro's local Chamber of Deputies. From the 1930s to early 1960s, the Senate occupied the Monroe Palace, demolished in the 1970s to allow the construction of the subway Cinelândia Station; the Federal Chamber of Deputies moved to Brasília in early 1960s as well, but for a couple of years temporarily occupied a building near the Municipal Theater. Since the 1960s, the National Congress has been located in Brasília; as with most of the city's government buildings, the National Congress building was designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the modern Brazilian style.
The semi-sphere on the left is the seat of the Senate, the semi-sphere on the right is the seat of the Chamber of the Deputies. Between them are two vertical office towers; the Congress occupies other surrounding office buildings, some of them interconnected by a tunnel. The building is located in the middle of main street of Brasília. In front of it there is a large lawn. At the back of it, is the Praça dos Três Poderes, where lies the Palácio do Planalto and the Supreme Federal Court. On December 6, 2007, the Institute of Historic and Artistic National Heritage decided to declare the building of the National Congress a historical heritage of the Brazilian people; the building is among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as part of Brasília's original urban buildings, since 1987. At least two other high-rise buildings are similar to the National Congress b
National Congress of Chile
The National Congress of Chile is the legislative branch of the government of the Republic of Chile. The National Congress of Chile was founded on July 4, 1811, it is a bicameral legislature composed of the Chamber of Deputies, of 155 Deputies and by the Senate, formed by 50 Senators. The organisation of Congress and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of the current constitution and by the Constitutional Organic Law No. 18,918. Congress meets in the Chile Congress building, built during the last years of the Pinochet regime and stands in the port city of Valparaíso, some 140 km west of the capital, Santiago; this new building replaced the Former National Congress Building, located in downtown Santiago. On 13 September 1973, the Government Junta of Chile dissolved Congress. Chamber of Deputies of Chile List of legislatures by country Politics of Chile Senate of Chile Cámara de Diputados Senado
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