Legislative Assembly (Hana'ea)

The Legislative Assembly (Hana'ean: 房集, tr. Fa'e Ao) is the national legislature of Hana'ea. The Legislative Assembly meets in the west wing of the Fa'e Hau (lit. "House of Government) in the capital city of Ko'otea in accordance with principles of introduced during the country's long contact with Longzhou.

The Legislative Assembly is an elected body consisting of 20 delegates, all of whom are elected by the system to represent their respective constituencies, which are defined in Hanaea's 1975 constitution. These delegates hold their seats for five years from the date of their election or until the President of Hana'ea dissolves the body, at which time an election must be immediately called.

As Hana'ea operates under a, the Prime Minister and Cabinet are responsible to the Legislative Assembly and can be removed via a vote of no-confidence, although only the Prime Minister is required to hold a seat in the Legislative Assembly.

History
Under the terms of Hanaea's 1838 Treaty of Friendship with Longzhou, the Governor (xunfu) assigned by the Tianlong Emperor was to consult with a fono comprised of representatives from each of Hanaea's traditional clans. Due to its small population and lesser significance for Longzhouen colonization, the smaller atoll of Manau was excluded from this arrangement.

Truly democratic representation, however, did not begin in Hana'ea until the formation of the original Fono Mata (lit. "Popular Congress." Not to be confused with the current political party) in the 1910s. Inspired by a groundswell in dissident literature and aspiring to expand the power of Hana'ean villages while diminishing the authority of the foreign-appointed Governor, underground elections were held for the first time in 1921. These assemblies were viewed with suspicion by Longzhouen authorities, but were unofficially allowed to continue organizing as a "gesture of imperial generosity." Upon receiving news of the White Lotus Rebellion, the Fono Mata declared the independence of the "Republic of Hana'ea and Manau" and proclaimed the establishment of a Fa'e Ao. This ushered in a four-year period of unrecognized self-rule, during which power was shared between the nascent Legislative Assembly, dominated by the Fono Mata, and Hanaea's chieftains. Following the failure of the White Lotus Rebellion, Longzhouen control was reasserted and the leaders of the independence movement were executed.

When the new Fono Mata was formed in 1947, it made the creation of an independent Hana'ean state ruled by a democratic legislature a high priority and agitated for the reintroduction of legislative representation. Still, it would not be until 1960, after eleven years of direct Longzhouen rule and two years of a chieftain-led caretaker government, that the first internationally recognized elections in Hana'ean history could be conducted.

Since 1960, with the exceptions of the periods of 1974-1976 and 1990-1998, the Fono Mata has held a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly. Recent elections, however, have shown support for the party to be waning amid populist calls for the addition of seats to the Legislative Assembly and the unpopularity of the economic policies associated with its current Prime Minister, Niu Umatatia'e'a.

Powers and Procedures
The Constitution of Hana'ea provides the Legislative Assembly with the power to pass laws by simple majority. The President of Hana'ea can only veto its laws if he believes they conflict with specific constitutional provisions or are otherwise "inimical to universal standards of compassionate and humane conduct." The Legislative Assembly may only amend the constitution by supermajority, conditional upon approval in a nationwide referendum.

Delegates to the Legislative Assembly are guaranteed by the constitution and the Supreme Court of Hana'ea has original jurisdiction in all cases levied against them for as long as they hold office.

One unique feature of the Legislative Assembly's procedure is that former delegates, although they are no longer entitled to vote, retain the right to speak and make motions during the legislative session should they seek to do so. Because sitting delegates always take priority during debate and on making motions, however, the power of former delegates to speak is very rarely used, although it has occasionally been used to subvert the chamber's rules to great efficacy. For instance, a movant for a vote of no confidence is normally not allowed to vote on his or her own motion. By bringing in a former delegate to make the motion, the opposition may be able to retain the final vote necessary for the Government to lose confidence. This specific legislative maneuver has been successfully attempted only once, in 1989.

Elections
Elections to the Legislative Assembly are conducted via the method, whereby each legislative district selects one delegate based on a plurality of votes cast. Despite the relatively weak position of traditional clan government in Hana'ean society compared to other countries in Haegye, an outsized number of the Legislative Assembly's members are also members of Hana'ean chieftains' families.

Because the boundaries of the legislative districts are constitutionally mandated, there is no requirement that they have comparable shares of the population. When coupled with decades of population shifts, this has resulted in a notorious instance of, with the least populous district (16) having only a little over 800 residents and the most populous (4) having nearly 5000. This uneven distribution is opposed by the populist MaMO party, which insists that demand that all Hana'eans share an equal right to vote.

Building
The current Hana'ean Fa'e Hau began construction a few years after independence to replace the old Longzhouen custom house, which was destroyed by a cyclone in 1963. It was completed in time for the celebration of ten years of Hana'ean indepence in 1968 and has served as the location for the Legislative Assembly chamber as well as offices for the executive branch of government. Only the Supreme Court of Hana'ea is housed in its own building.