Member of the American Parliament

  

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A Member of the American Parliament (MAP) is a person who is elected to serve as a official popular representative in the American Parliament.

Prior to its creation, the American Parliament was known as the General Assembly and its members were directly appointed by the governments from their respective member states from among those who were already holding seats in the parliaments and other national legislatures of said member states. Following the formal establishment of the American Parliament in 1960 via the Treaty of New Hamburg, MAPs are elected via parliamentary elections and universal suffrage. Each member state of the Conference of American States has their own ways of electing MAPs, some of which have changed over time, but must be elected in a form of proportional representation. MAPs are typically elected to serve a national constituency while some are elected to represent sub-national regions.

They are sometimes referred to as delegates and representatives alternative titles while certain MAPs are known as observers, elected non-voting members to the American Parliament from countries that are both observer states and/or states seeking full CAS membership.

Elections

Main article: Elections to the American Parliament

As of 2015, the American Parliament has a total of 501 seats up from 483 in the previous 2010 parliamentary election. Each member state elects an average of 16 MAPs.

Parliamentary elections are held once every five years with the most recent being in 2015 and are held on a basis of universal suffrage. There exists no universal voting system and varies upon member state, but there are three restrictions that all member states must abide by:

• Elections must be held in a system of proportional representation under either a system of party-list or a Single Transferable Vote.
• An election may be subdivided, but it must not threaten or undermine the nature of proportional representation.
• An election threshold on a national level must not surpass 10%.
• Instant-run off voting may be used for parliamentary elections.

The allocation of seats in the American Parliament are based around a system of degressive proportionality so that smaller CAS member states can elect more MAPs than their populations would be able to justify and allow smaller nations to have an equal say in CAS politics alongside more bigger and populous nations. The number of MAPs from each country has risen and varies due to treaty negotiations and political changes, so no universal formula for appointing seats exist in the CAS. No change can occur unless there's a unanimous agreement among members of the national governments of all member states.

Midterm and snap elections

On occasion certain member states have held early parliamentary elections commonly known as midterm elections as they usually occur in between the five year term sessions in between elections. Countries such as Alaska are known to host said elections and occur for different reasons. In Alaska, early parliamentary elections are held in the event that a sudden change of government occurs.

Length of service

The number of years and terms an MAP can serve is generally inconsistent and varies upon each individual MAP with many leaving if they're either voted out of office in parliamentary elections or resign. This is because no specific term limits exist in the American Parliament and most legislatures in the CAS lack any specific term limits in general. The lack of term limits has been a long standing controversy and one that many organizations and have been formed in order to attempt to address and reform such as the American Reform Committee.

MAPs in Parliament

11th American Parliament (2015-Present).

Main article: Political groups in the American Parliament

MAPs are organized into nine political groups in the American Parliament, though some have served as independent in previous sessions. The two largest political groups are the Liberal Democrats of America (LDA) and the American Conservative Coalition (ACC), both of which have been the most dominant groups in parliament and have held a majority of seats throughout its history. No single group has hold a clear majority in parliament and coalitions are frequently formed. As a result of being a broad alliance of various political parties from across the CAS, American political parties are more decentralized and have more in common with the federal states in Germany than they do with the parties of unitary states. Between 2002 and 2016, American political parties were more cohesive and less partisan than they are now.

Aside from working with party groups, MAPs are also granted their own individual rights and powers in Parliament such as:

• The right to table a motion for resolution in Parliament.
• The right to put questions to the American Council, the American Secretariat, and leaders of Parliament.
• The right to an amendment in any text of any committee and bill.
• The right to make explanations for a vote and call for one.
• The right to raise points of order.
• The right to move the in admissibility of a matter.

Observers

Main article: List of observers to the American Parliament

See also

• CASobserver
• Apportionment in the American Parliament
• List of current members of the American Parliament