1
Dispatch → Account → Drama
The Government of Aschentor
The Government of Aschentor
Index
The Grand Assembly
The Citizen's Council
The Paramount and His Administration
Noble Houses
Merchant's Guilds
The Clergy
Citizenship Within Aschentor
The Grand Assembly
The Grand Assembly is Aschentor's main legislative body and is its oldest institution. Made up of 500 members, the assembly's job is to propose and approve laws and taxes. Most of the times it is the Paramount that is proposing the laws, but members of the Grand Assembly can propose a law or tax at any time if they wish. The assembly is divided into 3 factions. The nobles, the famed aristocracy of Aschentor, hold 225 seats. The burghers and their respective guilds, also 225 seats. The remaining fifty seats are given to the clergymen of Aschentor, a small but still important faction within the political machinations of the Republic.
How people get a seat in the Grand Assembly is a generally simple topic, at least when it comes to the nobles and burghers. There are 225 nobles families within Aschentor. The head of any noble family gets a seat. There are 225 guilds in Aschentor. The head of a guild, or a representative chosen by the guild, get a seat. As for the clergy, it is more complicated. The Cult of Stars is the main religious institution of Aschentor. Led by a thirty-man council of Augurs, they elect one of their own as Grand Augur. In the Grand Assembly, both the Grand Augurs and the thirty members are given a seat. There are also eleven priesthoods, closely associated with the Cult of Stars. The leader of each of these orders also has a seat. Five seats are given to the leader of each of the five religious military orders of Aschentor. This leaves the remaining three seats. These seats are handed out to the heads of the three Artyanist churches in Aschentor.
The Grand Assembly of Aschentor is the Republic's oldest institution. Its creation can be dated back to either 82 ATF when the first council of the nobles and burghers of Aschentor was held, or in 103 ATF, when the growing assembly was made a legal institution of Aschentor by the Kostuan Emperor. During the Republic's early years, the Grand Assembly was the only ruling body of Aschentor and there were no other political institutions that could counteract it. Beginning in 186 ATF, however, the decline of the powers of the merchants and the rise of the nobility gave way to strongmen, who successfully manipulated their way to power and took forceful control of the assembly. After are a long standoff and then two civil wars, the position of Paramount was created and the Grand Assembly's powers were restricted. Since then, the assembly has been in a position of reduced power but it still remains the most important institution in Aschentor and perhaps its most famed.
The Citizen's Council
The Citizen's Council is Aschentor's secondary legislative body. It was created in 177 ATF after a long campaign by the lowly citizens of the city to gain more rights and political representation. Made up of 100 members, the Citizen's Council, more commonly referred to as the Council of One-Hundred, is the only institution in Aschentori politics that has its members elected by the populace. Every year, elections are held, and any resident with the status of citizenship may run to become a member. After elections have closed, the members of the council convene every week at the Citizen's Hall, located on the west bank of the city. The job of the Council of 100 is essentially, to challenge and amend the laws proposed and approved in the Grand Assembly, to ensure that the legislation of the Republic is in the best interest of the people.
When a bill is passed in the Grand Assembly, it must first be sent to the Citizen's Council. The members of the Citizen's Council then hold three sessions on three consecutive days. At the end of the last session, they vote on whether to: accept the bill, amend the bill, or flatly reject it. By amending the bill, the Citizen's Council is recommending changes to the piece of legislation, and these critiques and criticism are sent back to the Grand Assembly, who revise the bill and make the necessary changes, before sending it back to the Citizen's Council. The Citizen's Council can then accept the bill, amend it, which would start the process again, or they can reject it.
If the Citizen's Council simply rejects the bill, it is sent back to the Grand Assembly, upon which the Grand Assembly can attempt to pass it through again, but instead of the bill having to gain simply a majority, it must now gain a 2/3 majority. If it passes with a 2/3 majority, the bill is once again sent to the Citizen's Council. If they flatly reject it again, the bill is sent back to the Grand Assembly, who can again attempt to pass it, but this time 80% of the Grand Assembly must approve it. If the bill passes with 80%, it is enacted into law, with or without the approval of the Citizen's Council.
The Life of A Bill
To better explain the process of legislation in Aschentor, we will go through two examples of bills and how they are passed or not passed by the legislature.
The first example goes like this: A member of the Grand Assembly proposes a new bill. After lengthy meetings, that are held every week, the bill is passed by a majority of the Grand Assembly. After this, it is sent to the Citizen's Council, who hold a session reviewing the bill. The next day, they hold another session, where they discuss and debate the bill. The day after that, they hold more debating and then finally vote on it. In this case, the Citizen's Council reject the bill. The bill then goes back to the Grand Assembly, who seeing that it has been rejected, hold another series of lengthy meetings, that are again held every week. After five sessions, they again vote on it, but this time, the bill would need a 2/3 majority to pass. In this case, it passes with a 2/3 majority. The bill is again sent to the Citizen's Council who can now decide whether they still stand by their rejection. After three lengthy sessions, they vote again, but this time, if they want to reject it, they'd also need a 2/3 majority. In this case, the council fails to reject the bill with a 2/3 majority, and it is thus passed as a legal bill.
The second example goes like this: A member of the Grand Assembly proposes a new bill. After lengthy meetings, that are held every week, the bill is passed by a majority of the Grand Assembly. After this, it is sent to the Citizen's Council, who hold a session reviewing the bill. The next day, they hold another session, where they discuss and debate the bill. The day after that, they hold more debating and then finally vote on it. In this case, they amend the bill, highlighting parts that they don't like and recommending new changes. They then send the bill back to the Grand Assembly, who take the critiques into account, make the necessary changes, debate on whether they want to pass the new revised version. In this case, they don't like the new revised version and the bill is not made legal.
The Paramount and his Administration
The Paramount is the leader of Aschentor, that is elected by the Grand Assembly. He serves for his entire life unless he resigns or is removed by the Grand Assembly. Since 266 ATF, the position of Paramount has been in control of the Kristobergs, a powerful noble family, who have been passing the position to members of the family who they deem most suitable. In 334 ATF, Paramount Stefyn II was removed by the Grand Assembly and replaced by his grandnephew, Dietrik I. The Paramount is given control of the administration of Aschentor and his responsibility to enforce the laws passed by the Grand Assembly. The Paramount was not part of the original government of Aschentor. The position was added in 195 ATF, after two successive civil wars, where the nobles attempted to check the powers of the growing burgher class.
The Paramount appoints four ministers to head the main important parts of the Aschentori administration. The Treasurer handles the budget and how gold flows in and out of the coffers of the Republic. He manages income and expenses and keeps debt and inflation in check by various means. The Trademaster is an equally important task. Managing imports and exports, the Trademaster ensures that trade moves through the Republic in accordance with whatever laws may be in place at the time. Imports, exports, goods, anything trade-related is managed by the Trademaster. The Lord-Admiral is the third-most important office in the administration and handles everything relating to the navy of Aschentor, one of the Republic's most crucial tools.
