How the Government and Parliament of Asgardia Work?
Just a few weeks ago, in one of the most beautiful cities on Earth, Asgardia took yet another giant leap towards the stars.
As part of two bi-elections earlier this winter, every citizen of Asgardia had the opportunity to vote for Members of the Asgardian Parliament. Passionate Asgardians from around the world ran to be elected to represent their districts and with confirmation of the successful incumbents, Asgardia was ready to take its next big step as a nation. On 24 June 2018 (07 Asgard 0002), the first ever parliamentary session took place in Vienna, Austria. Asgardian MPs from around the world gathered to be verified and to take part in passing our first official laws. We are now officially a democratic society!
How Does the Asgardian Parliament Work?
As the first ever space nation, our governance structure was inspired by the oldest and most successful democracies of the world. Asgardia has adopted a unicameral parliament, which is selected democratically by voting, and that is also a constitutional monarchy.
The Head of Nation is recently inaugurated Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli. As the Head of Nation, it’s his role to approve bills passed by Parliament before they can become law.
Then there are three branches of power:
- Parliament — Legislative — Elected by the people
- Government — Executive — Selected according to their qualifications by the Prime Minister and approved by Parliament
- Court — Judicial — The Supreme Judge is appointed by the Head of Nation and will appoint qualified judges to be approved by Parliament
This is the basis for independence and hence democracy. For more detail, refer to Chapter 8 of the Constitution.
Parliament
The Asgardia Parliament is an elected body of 140+ members from 13 electoral districts. Each of these districts is a subdivision determined by the most commonly spoken languages of Asgardia. However, representation is not limited to language interest. The language districts ensure representation from all of the main Asgardian language bodies, however each MP represents the interests of all Asgardians and during election periods, Asgardians may vote for Members of Parliament from all districts.
In Asgardia, there are no political parties. The main responsibility of each MP is to represent their constituents, protecting their interests and advocating for policies and laws that will improve their lives.
Each MP can serve a term of five years, at which point they must run again if they wish to hold their position. There is no limit on the number of terms a Parliamentarian can serve. For more detail, please see Chapter 8 of the Constitution. As with most legislative bodies around the world, the Asgardian Parliament works to draft legislation and pass laws. They are also responsible for appointing the Chairman of Parliament, and Mr. Lembit Opik was elected to that role at the June 24th session.
Parliament is divided into 12 permanent committees, corresponding with the various governmental ministries. MPs will work with Ministers to develop policy to advance Asgardia’s interests. The 12 committees are:
- Citizenship
- Culture
- Equity & Resource
- Finance
- Foreign Affairs
- Information & Communication
- Justice
- Manufacturing
- Safety & Security
- Science & Environment
- Trade & Commerce
- Youth & Education
Government
Now that Parliament is in operation, the next step is to establish the government ministries. The Prime Minister in Asgardia is an appointed position. The position is currently being held by Interim Prime Minister Ana Díaz.
It’s the Prime Minister’s responsibility to select the Ministers that will form the Asgardian government and propose them to Parliament for endorsement, in line with Article 34 of the Asgardia Constitution. Ms. Díaz is undertaking that responsibility within her first 90 days in office. Minister roles are hired positions, sourced from the entire population of Asgardia, also in line with Article 34 — Government. The selection process is based on qualifications. This will ensure that we have the best and the brightest running the day-to-day workings of the Asgardian government. Each Minister will work closely with their associated parliamentary committee.
Another important component of Asgardia’s democratic structure was achieved in Decree 19 with the appointment of Mr. Yun Zhao as the Supreme Justice of Asgardia.
Next Steps
For Asgardia’s next steps, the following objectives are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018:
- Form the Cabinet of Ministers
- Elect Heads of Parliamentary Committees
- Appoint Members of the Court
- Assemble the Prosecutor’s General Office
- Assemble the National Audit Office
- Assemble the Supreme Space Council
- Complete recruitment for the Administration of the Head of Nation
- Establish the National Bank
- Introduce the National Currency
Asgardians everywhere should be very proud of how far Asgardia has come since it was founded less than two years ago. Our nation has gone from an idea, born from the visionary mind of Dr. Ashurbeyli, to becoming a nation with a functioning government. Our governmental systems will continue to evolve as we continue to grow!
If you would like to discuss how the government of Asgardia works, you can join the official Asgardia Forums and engage with your fellow Asgardia residents! We also invite you to join Asgardia on Facebook, Twitter,Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google+ to join in the conversation and keep up-to-date about any Asgardian news and announcements.
