Senate of Sarenium
| Senate of Sarenium | |
|---|---|
| 155th Parliament of Sarenium | |
| Type | |
| Type | Upper house of the Parliament of Sarenium |
| Term limits | 45 Appointed by President; 60 elected by constituents. |
| Leadership | |
| Speaker of the Senate |
Tim Barlow, Conservatives Since August 1st, 2016 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 105 |
 | |
| Political groups |
Government Opposition Crossbench
|
| Length of term7 | Three years |
| Elections | |
| Voting system | Preferential System |
| Redistricting | SEC |
The Saren Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Sarenium, the lower house being the House of Commons. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I, Part II of the Saren Constitution. There are a total of 105 senators: 7 from each of the states. Three of those seven are appointed by the President, on advice of the Prime Minister and the remaining four are elected by their respective constituents. The elected Senators are elected every six years (with half of them being elected every three years) and the appointed Senators serve either a single-non-renewable eight-year term or resign at an earlier stage.
The Senate is designed to be capable of blocking legislation from the House should it be needed, the Senate can only outright deny the legislation's passage should the house fail to pass a three-fifths majority. If the House does pass a 3/5 (378/630) majority, the Senate can only delay its passage for the next three terms of Parliament before which the President can grant the house the power to pass legislation without the Senate's authority. If the House acquires a 2/3 (420/630) majority, then the legislation can pass with just 1/3 of the Senate (35/105) in approval. A 'refusal to provide Presidential Assent' will only be overrode with a 2/3s majority in both houses of Parliament.
Contents
Elected Senators
Currently, of the sixty elected Senators there are 26 Conservative Senators and 20 Labor Senators. There are also 13 elected independents and 4 United and 7 Greens Senators. A split appointed bench of 5 independents, 15 Tory and 15 Labor Senators after an agreement that President Orbem would seek to balance Parliament.
