A parliamentary group , parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who are not numerous enough to form parliamentary groups in their own names, to join with other parties or independent politicians in order to benefit from rights or privileges that are only accorded to formally recognized groups. An electoral alliance , where political parties associate only for elections, is similar to a parliamentary group. A technical group is similar to a parliamentary group but with members of differing ideologies. In contrast, a political faction is a subgroup within a political party and a coalition forms only after elections.
53-521: The Megacombinatie (also written as MEGA Combinatie and Mega Combinatie ) was a political alliance in the 2010 Surinamese general election . The alliance was founded on 5 July 2008 and consisted of: This article about a Surinamese political party is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Political alliance Parliamentary groups may elect a parliamentary leader ; such leaders are often important political players. Parliamentary groups in some cases use party discipline to control
106-544: A Deputy of the requirements not to be engaged in entrepreneurial activities, not to hold offices in state or commercial organizations, and not to perform other paid work except for scientific, pedagogical or creative work (1st Paragraph of the Article 65 of the Constitution). The committee also decides if there was a violation of 2nd Paragraph of the Article 6.1 of the mentioned law i.e. the very basic requirements to abide
159-539: A region's group of countries') parliament(s), and, in a broader scope, to foster the bilateral relations between said countries. Parliamentary friendship groups play an important role in New Zealand's engagement in inter-parliamentary relations, with group members often called upon to participate and host meetings for visiting delegations from the other part, as well as often being invited by the other country's parliament to visit it. Friendship Groups do not speak for
212-744: Is a common thing. Point 7 of rule 176 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament states that "A committee of inquiry may contact the institutions or persons referred to in Article 3 of the Decision referred to in paragraph 2 with a view to holding a hearing or obtaining documents." Even though it was prescribed neither by the Constitution nor the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly that temporary committees have
265-451: Is a great tool for the parliament to exercise oversight and that is why according to articles 107 and 108 of the new Constitution there is a differentiation between temporary and inquiry committees. However, in late 2015, there was a concern relating to the powers of these committees as prescribed by the article 108 of the new Constitution. Edmon Marukyan , the only non-party Deputy of the National Assembly of Armenia, suggested an addendum to
318-542: Is stipulated by the Constitution some argue, that when withdrawal of oppositional MPs leads to violation of that rule the ruling party shall be forced to call new snap elections. This is however not a consensus opinion and probably shall be dealt with in Constitutional Court. Historically, significant share of cast votes (1995: 12.8%, 1999: 18.6%, 2003: 24.0%, 2007: 24.7%, 2012: 1.6%, 2017: 9.1%, 2018: 14.9%, 2021: 19.8%) fell below election threshold and
371-515: Is to support the leadership by enforcing party discipline . In Armenia , political parties often form parliamentary groups before running in elections. Prior to the 2021 Armenian parliamentary elections , four different parliamentary groups were formed. A parliamentary group must pass the 7% electoral threshold in order to gain representation in the National Assembly . Higher electoral thresholds for parliamentary groups discourages
424-407: Is typically led by a parliamentary group leader or chairperson , though some parliamentary groups have two or more co-leaders . If the parliamentary group is represented in the legislature, the leader is almost always chosen from among the sitting members; if the leader does not yet have a seat in the legislature, a sitting member of the group may be expected to resign to make way for him or her. If
477-622: The Armenian parliamentary elections of 1919 , the National Assembly's membership increased again up to 80 deputies including several minority representatives. The Khorhurd continued to function with an overwhelming Dashnak majority through four Prime Ministers in the span of two years, until the Sovietisation of Armenia in 1920 . From 1938, the National Assembly of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic
530-528: The Constitution of Armenia , Article 73 "If appropriate, interim committees may be established as prescribed by the law on the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly for preliminary discussion of certain draft laws or for submitting to the National Assembly opinions, statements on certain issues, events and facts". Following the consideration and definition in the Constitution the Law on Rules of Procedure of
583-1244: The NATO Parliamentary Assembly , the EU -Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee, the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy , the Inter-Parliamentary Union , the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation , the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization , the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly ,
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#1732764951547636-502: The Netherlands ( fractie ); Poland ( klub ), Switzerland ( fraction / Fraktion / frazione ); Romania ( grup parlamentar ); and Russia ( фракция/fraktsiya ), Spain ('grupo parlamentario'), and Ukraine ( фракція/fraktsiya ). Generally, parliamentary groups have some independence from the wider party organisations. It is often thought improper for elected MPs to take instructions solely from non-elected party officials or from
689-771: The Parliament of Armenia (խորհրդարան, khorhrdaran ) is the legislative branch of the government of Armenia . The National Assembly was originally established in 1918 as the Khorhurd ( Armenian : Խորհուրդ ) by the Armenian National Council following their declaration of independence . Acting as the nation's provisional legislative body, the Armenian National Council tripled its membership, forming an interim coalition government composed of Dashnaks and Populists . Following
742-499: The Parliamentary Friendship Groups , also called Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Groups , Friendship Parliamentary Groups , or Parliamentary Group of Friendship [and Cooperation] . "Parliamentary Friendship" groups are groups of congresspeople/members of parliament who voluntarily organise themselves to promote parliamentary relations between their own Parliament and another country's (or even
795-515: The United Kingdom Parliament there exist associations of MPs called "all-party parliamentary groups", which bring together members of different parliamentary groups who wish to involve themselves with a particular subject. This term is in a sense the opposite of the term 'parliamentary group', which designates a group that includes only members of the same party or electoral fusion. One special kind of parliamentary groups are
848-561: The semi-presidential system the powers of the Parliament will be enhanced, an example of this is the right of oversight of the executive power of the republic which is and will be exercised by the Government (as of article 85 of the current and article 145 the new Constitutions). So, the Parliament will have more powers and functions; therefore, it needs more tools to exercise these powers and perform its functions. An inquiry committee
901-502: The Government of their own country, or even for the whole of the Parliament/Congress to which they belong, as they are usually self-regulating and self-fulfilling. Parliamentary Friendship Groups are active in the national congresses/parliaments of countries such as Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Israel, Laos, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, Switzerland, and
954-419: The National Assembly clearly defines all the issues concerning the add hoc committees. More particularly, according to the article 22 of the mentioned law, add hoc committees are created by the decision of the National Assembly. The decision should contain information relating to the tasks, terms and procedures of an add hoc committee, meaning that the committee should operate only in very strict limitations set to
1007-478: The National Assembly is Alen Simonyan . After electoral system amendments introduced in April 2021 members of parliament are elected only through closed party lists by party list proportional representation method. Four mandates are reserved for national minorities, provided they are included in corresponding section of party lists. Any top segment of a party list can not include over 70% of representatives of
1060-468: The National Assembly, each faction has the right to nominate at least 1 Deputy to the ethics committee. The chairperson of the committee and the vice-chairperson are appointed from the members of the committee by the nomination of faction, although the Chairperson of the National Assembly is the one to appoint the chairperson of the ethics committee, the vice chairperson, and to approve other members. If
1113-464: The National Assembly. By then, the suggestion received a positive feedback and the committee members stated that it could be approved on the constitutional level. However, the decision on the official proposal to the National Assembly was to include the addendum in the rules of procedure of the NA rather than in the Constitution. The international experience shows that giving such powers to inquiry committees
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#17327649515471166-517: The United States, among many others. National Assembly (Armenia) Opposition (36) [REDACTED] CIS Member State [REDACTED] CoE Member State The National Assembly of Armenia ( Armenian : Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Ազգային ժողով , Hayastani Hanrapetyut'yan Azgayin zhoghov or simply Ազգային ժողով, ԱԺ Azgayin Zhoghov , AZh ), also informally referred to as
1219-473: The accused Deputies the committee on ethics found them guilty of violating the duty to abide the laws. Also, in order to eliminate this kind of issues in the future, the committee made a suggestion to make supplements and changes in the Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly more specifically consider voting instead for other Deputies disturbance of the order and enforce
1272-435: The chairperson of the ethics committee is from a non-opposition faction, the vice chairperson should be from the opposition faction and the vice versa. Factions have the right to change their representative in the ethics committee. According to the Article 24.2 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly the ethics committee provides conclusion to the National Assembly on violation by
1325-454: The committee are closed except of cases when the Deputy in the application suggests holding an open sitting. Sitting of the committee is valid if at least half of the members are present, and the sitting is held by the chairperson of the committee, the vice chairperson, or another member according to the prescriptions of the law. Member of the committee assigned for the examination of the issue is
1378-414: The committee required information regarding its remit, if the information is not classified as secrets protected by law. All the other regulations concerning temporary and inquiry committee should be established by the Law on Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly. According to the latest Constitutional Reforms Armenia will have a parliamentary state governance system . This means that compared to
1431-462: The current add hoc committees of the National Assembly of Armenia is the Committee on Ethics. This is not a classical add hoc committee as it does exist during every session of the National Assembly but the committee functions till the beginning of the successive session when a new committee is formed. According to the Article 24.1 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Rules of Procedure of
1484-472: The decisions and conclusions were adopted by the majority of votes, the committee had the right to require and obtain materials and documents relevant to the issues examined by the committee from any state agency; it can also demand to the state agencies with the exception of courts, judges and prosecutors to carry out checks, studies and expert examinations on the issues examined in the committee and so on. The committee presented its findings and conclusion during
1537-496: The demand, in order to acquaint facts of public interests to the National Assembly. 2. The National Assembly regulates the number of members of an inquiry committee. The places of the inquiry committees should be proportional to the number of faction's members. The chair of the committee should be the member of the parliament who presented a request. 3. If minimum one-quarter of an inquiry committee demands; state, local self-government bodies and officials are compelled to introduce to
1590-405: The ethics committee and other people participating in the activities of the committee cannot publicize details of the examination. One of the recent cases in this committee was an application indicating names of several Deputies and reporting that they voted instead for other Deputies during the voting. After examining the application, listening to the committee member appointed for the case and to
1643-411: The exception of courts, judges and prosecutors to carry out checks, studies and expert examinations on the issues examined in the committee. The members of the ethics committee are free to enter any state institution or to examine any document relating to the case. Any individual can apply to the committee on ethics in cases prescribed by the law. The applicant should submit a written application with all
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1696-515: The first round and no coalition with sufficient mandates is established within 6 days after the election results announcement a second round of elections will be carried out on 28th day of the first round voting. Two best-performing political forces are allowed to participate in the second round. All mandates received as per first round will be preserved. The party (or a newly formed coalition) which wins second round of elections will be given additional number of mandates to reach 54% of all seats (provided
1749-564: The formation of parliamentary groups like Centre-right coalition and Centre-left coalition . In the Swiss Federal Assembly , at least five members are required to form a parliamentary group. The most important task is to delegate members to the commissions. The parliamentary groups are decisive in Swiss Federal Assembly and not the political parties, which are not mentioned in the parliamentary law. In
1802-471: The formation of parliamentary groups running in elections. The parliamentary groups of the European Parliament must consist of no less than 25 MEPs from seven different EU member states . No party discipline is required. Parliamentary groups gain financial support and can join committees. Hungarian mixed-member majoritarian representation rewards the formation of parliamentary groups, like United for Hungary . Italian parallel voting system rewards
1855-422: The laws, to respect moral norms of the society, to be respectful to the colleagues, not to be guided by personal interests and so on, provides a Deputy with conclusion if his/her job is scientific, pedagogical or creative and more. The Committee on Ethics can require and obtain materials and documents relevant to the issues examined by the committee from any state agency; it can also demand to the state agencies with
1908-466: The loss), examine the lawfulness of the accumulation of debt for natural gas during 2011–2013 and reasonableness of the amount of debt, to make predictions about the possibilities of alternative gas importers and other thoroughly listed issues relating to the gas supply system in Armenia as a whole including examination of prices for the gas and international practices. The committee hold closed sittings,
1961-404: The main reporter and the Deputy indicated in the application is the supplementary reporter. The decisions and conclusions of the committee are adopted by the majority of votes if more than half of the members participated in the voting. The content of the application and name of the Deputy indicated in the application are not publicly available until the adoption of the final decision. The members of
2014-438: The new Constitution, temporary committees may be developed only by the decision of the National Assembly to discuss certain draft laws and acts of the National Assembly and present views or statements connected to the National Assembly. Article 108 is about the inquiry committees of the National Assembly. 1. The inquiry committee should be formed if at least the twenty-five percent of the total number of parliamentarians present
2067-437: The newly formed coalition does not already have over 54% of mandates from the results of the first round). If any party or bloc wins over 2/3 of mandates sufficient additional mandates are distributed among all other political forces represented in the parliament to ensure that at least 1/3 of all seats are held by forces other than the winning one. Since the requirement of assignment of 1/3 of all mandates to non-ruling parties
2120-424: The parliamentary and organisational leadership will be held by the same person or people, whether ex officio or not; other parties maintain a sharp distinction between the two offices. Nevertheless, in almost all cases, the parliamentary leader is the public face of the party, and wields considerable influence within the organisational wing, whether or not they hold any official position there. A parliamentary group
2173-415: The party is not represented in the legislature for the time being, the leader will often be put forward at a general election as the party's candidate for their most winnable seat. In some parties, the leader is elected solely by the members of the parliamentary group; in others, some or all members of the wider party participate in the election. Parliamentary groups often have one or more whips , whose role
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2226-479: The point 3 of article 108. According to him, the addendum should prescribe that the inquiry committees should be empowered to demand state and local self-government body officials to be present in the sittings of the committees and provide relevant explanations. The improvement was suggested for the first time on 11 September 2015, during the session of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of
2279-459: The power to hold a hearing with the presence of state and local self-government body officials, there was such a case when the committee held a closed-door hearing. On 23 October 2008 with the order of the President of Armenia, a temporary committee of experts was formed on obtaining facts and evidence on the incidents of 1 March 2008. So as to gain the necessary information the committee was given
2332-486: The presiding officer to take immediate disciplinary measures against these Deputies that is depriving the Deputy from the right to be present during the session of the National Assembly. The National Assembly approved this suggestion. This committee was established in February 2014 to examine the protection level of natural gas consumers' interests (calories of supplied gas, testing gas usage counters, argumentations for
2385-427: The relevant documents. By proposal of the chairperson of the ethics committee but no later than ten days the committee starts the examination of the issue raised in the application or rejects its examination. The committee on ethics finishes its examination of the issue in 30 days after starting an examination; it may also extend the deadline by 20 days in case of necessity to implement a deeper research. The sittings of
2438-441: The same sex. Parties need to pass 5% of votes and alliances (blocs) 7% threshold respectively to be included in mandate distribution. By law, parliament must have at least 3 political forces present, even if one or more of them did not pass the electoral threshold. In this case, the sheer percentage decides which party enters parliament, regardless of whether it is a party or a bloc. If neither party wins over 50% of mandates in
2491-715: The session of the National Assembly of 7 April 2015. The National Assembly of Armenia maintains various cooperation agreements with national parliaments around the world including the Parliament of Georgia , the National Assembly of France , the Parliament of Egypt , the Federal Assembly of Russia , the Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan , the People's Assembly of Syria , and the Parliament of Lebanon . The National Assembly of Armenia also holds membership in various international parliamentary organizations including
2544-449: The small subset of the electorate represented by party members. In any case, the exigencies of government, the need to cooperate with other members of the legislature and the desire to retain the support of the electorate as a whole often preclude strict adherence to the wider party's wishes. The exact relationship between the parliamentary party and the party varies between countries, and also from party to party. For example, in some parties,
2597-498: The spheres of its investigation, the resources it may gain access to and also to the timeframes. The ultimate reason for existence of such committees is to deliver a report on its finding during a session of the National Assembly. Based on these reports, the Deputy may create a draft resolution in 2 days and if agreed by the Lead Committee, the resolution may be included in the draft agenda for upcoming four-day session. One of
2650-432: The tools typical to a real parliamentarian inquiry committee. Ad hoc committees are special temporary committees established by the decision of the National Assembly to discuss certain draft laws, or investigate certain issues, events or facts and to submit conclusions to the National Assembly. The aim of these committees is to draw attention to exceptional cases that are not covered by the standing committees. According to
2703-695: The votes of their members. Parliamentary groups correspond to " caucuses " in the United States Congress and the Parliament of Canada . A parliamentary group is sometimes called the parliamentary wing of a party, as distinct from its organizational wing . Equivalent terms are used in different countries, including: Argentina ( bloque and interbloque ), Australia (party room); Austria ( Klub ); Belgium ( fractie / fraction / Fraktion ); Brazil and Portugal ("grupo parlamentar" or, informally, "bancadas"); Germany ( Fraktion ); Italy ( gruppo ), Finland (eduskuntaryhmä/ riksdagsgrupp );
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#17327649515472756-442: Was disregarded in mandate distribution. Current political representation in the National Assembly following the 2021 Armenian parliamentary election : The National Assembly has eleven standing committees: According to the new constitution of Armenia ( 2015 Constitutional Reforms ), the functions of committees previously defined as ad hoc committees are divided into temporary and inquiry committees. As stated in article 107 of
2809-518: Was referred to as the Supreme Council of Armenia . Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the adoption of the new Constitution of Armenia in 1995, the formation of the current National Assembly was established. The National Assembly is a unicameral body. The National Assembly consists of at least 101 seats, but with additional seats allocated, it may grow and reach to about 200 seats in extremely rare cases. The President of
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