Introduction to the Chamber

The chamber is a mock parliament set in a unicameral version of the U.K. parliament. The speakers run the chamber, making posts for elections, debates, etc and enforcing the rules and constitution. Elections are held every month over a 24 hour period over the 15th and 16th, starting and ending at 20:30. Parties get seats from elections and may also acquire seats from their performance in debates and from their campaigns during election season, both of which are marked by the speakers. 175 seats are given out for the election, 50 seats for debates and 25 for campaigns, making a total of 250.

Any party may submit bills to be debated. After the debate, the bill enters a separate group called the ballot box, in which MPs vote. If a bill fails on its first vote, it may be amended by the proposing party and then go to a second vote the next day. A regular bill requires a majority to pass, a constitutional change requires a 2/3 (66%) majority and repealing a previous chamber bill requires a 60% majority.

Individuals may also submit bills on the monthly private members’ bills (PMB) post. Any bill which gets 20 or more “reactions” (i.e. likes) will then be included in a vote in the ballot box, and the bill with the most votes there is then debated.

Any person may set up a party. If the speakers “approve” a party it then officially exists in the chamber and is able to attend debates, although is not necessarily able to contest elections. If an approved party writes a manifesto and amassed a cabinet of 20 people or more, it may then register itself on the party registration post before the election. This means that it will run in that upcoming election.

Elected seats are allocated in a system of proportional representation, with a threshold of 25 votes to qualify for any seats at all. Coalitions can be first announced  in comments on a post which occurs a couple of days after the election, and may be announced at any time after that. The largest coalition or party becomes government, and the second largest becomes the official opposition.