Our Legislative Body
Legislative authority is granted by the constitution to a central parliament comprising a single representative council. This council represents the five states according to their significance and the degree to which they exercise self-governance. For example, the western and southern states may have one representative for every 200,000 citizens, the eastern and northern states one representative for every 150,000 citizens, and the central state one representative for every 50,000 citizens.
This arrangement, however, is temporary. The constitution will be amended to ensure equal representation for citizens across all states as they advance toward full self-governance. Each state’s legislative council may be empowered to determine the eligibility of its representatives and the methods of their nomination, provided that the candidates have resided in the state they represent for no less than seven years, are at least twenty-five years old, and are literate.
Both men and women aged eighteen and above will participate in electing parliament. A special committee will oversee the elections and be tasked with establishing permanent state boundaries. These boundaries must be approved by the first parliament as one of its initial acts. If any changes are made, they will not take effect until after the end of the current parliament’s term and the subsequent parliamentary elections.
Parliament’s term will last four years. It has the authority to legislate on any matter it deems beneficial to society, provided it adheres to the constraints that ensure its legislation is wise and lawful as previously mentioned. If parliament fails to meet these standards, there are stringent mechanisms for reviewing the constitutionality of laws, including oversight by the people, the president, the judiciary, and especially the Constitutional Court. Any legislation found unconstitutional will be returned to parliament.
Some may argue that such oversight interferes with the legislative process and could delay legislation. While this might be true initially, particularly when representatives lack adequate legal expertise, such delays are inconsequential if they result in the creation of well-thought-out and wise legislation.
One essential principle must never be overlooked, as it was mentioned in our earlier discussion on sovereignty. Our system is built on rejecting the flawed notion that power creates and enforces rights or that the state itself is the law. Instead, we adhere to the correct principle that right is might, even when it appears defenseless and lacks widespread support. In our system, the state is subject to the law, and the people, who are the true sovereigns, are also subject to the law. Their sovereignty is not derived merely from their existence but from their love for the law, their understanding of it, and their adherence to it.
This is why we place such strong emphasis on the constitutionality of laws and why we regard the legislative body as the backbone of our governmental structure.
