Politics of High Fells

Since the reestablishment of Fellsian democracy following the June Revolution of 1987, the politics of High Fells take place amidst the context of a democratic, parliamentary regime characterized by religious polarization, government corruption, and occasional outbreaks of political violence.

Structure of Government

Under the 1987 Constitution, High Fells is a parliamentary regime in which power is vested in Parliament. The Fellsian parliament is asymmetrically bicameral, with the elected House of Deputies holding greater power than the appointed House of Councillors. The House of Deputies is responsible for initiating legislation and appointing the Chancellor and his government, as well as holding sole power over the government budget. The House of Councillors is responsible for scrutinizing legislation and may delay its passage, as well as scrutinizing appointees to certain offices.

The president is the guardian of the constitution, head of the executive branch, and supreme commander of the military, and may also appoint provincial governors. The president is directly elected via a two-round system for a single six-year term. Amendments to the constitution have gradually increased the president's power over time. Customarily, power-sharing exists among the government's top three positions (president, chancellor, and speaker of the House of Deputies), meaning that they are allocated among religious and sectarian lines.

Elections

The Supreme Commission on Elections is High Fells's electoral commission, responsible for overseeing legislative boundaries, conducting elections, deterring corruption and voter intimidation, and counting and reporting election results. All Fellsian citizens over the age of 18, excluding convicted felons, are eligible to vote.

Elections to the House of Deputies take place among 200 single-member seats, alongside 80 seats elected by party-list proportional representation and 20 seats reserved for minority religious groups. Seats are allocated proportionally to each of High Fells's five provinces and designated numerically. Under the Fellsian constitution, the Supreme Commission on Elections must consider religious affiliation of voters to draw districts allowing geographically-sorted religious constituencies to be represented in the House of Deputies roughly according to their proportion of the provincial population; the resulting districts often do not follow compact geographic lines.

As for the House of Councillors, its 40-seat membership includes 20 members selected by provincial legislatures, eight representatives of the Anglo-Fellsian noble families, and twelve representatives of interest groups such as the military, Minjian clergy, the universities, and the business community.

Political Parties

High Fellsian politics is a multi-party system where coalition governments are necessary to elect a Chancellor in the House of Deputies. Many political parties are defined by their religious affiliation in addition to their position on a left-right political spectrum. The use of fusion voting in the single-member districts also dilutes party identity; many parties may only field candidates in a single province even while endorsing candidates through fusion voting nationally.

Major and Minor Political Parties in High Fells by Ballot Line

#	Party Name	Electoral Symbol	Ideology	Affiliation	Seats in the House of Deputies
2	Constitutional Republican Party	Mongoose	Social democracy, Fellsian nationalism	Secular	67 (Constituency, PR, minority)
4	Felicity Party	Tree	Minjian progressivism	Minjian	46 (Constituency, PR)
5	June Revolution Party	Raised fist	Liberalism, Christian left	Christian	22 (Constituency, PR)
8	Progressive Socialist Party	Wristwatch	Democratic socialism	Christian	5 (PR)
10	Labor Party	Dove	Social democracy, left-wing populism	Secular	4 (PR, minority)
1	Motherland Party	Horse	National conservatism	Secular	56 (Constituency, PR, minority)
3	Unity Party	Sun	Minjian democracy, Fellsian nationalism	Minjian	50 (Constituency, PR)
6	New Democracy	Fish	Christian democracy, anti-immigrant sentiment	Christian	12 (Constituency, PR)
12	Fellsian Alternative	Broom	Anti-corruption politics, right-wing populism	Secular	10 (PR, minority)
7	Appeal for High Fells	Camel	Minjian democracy, humanism, green politics	Minjian	9 (PR, minority)
13	Nation's Future Party	TV	Big-tent, universal basic income	Minjian	6 (PR)
11	Dignity and Integrity Party	Bicycle	Liberalism, populism, anti-corruption politics	Minjian	3 (PR)
9	Fellsian Will Party	Rooster	Anti-confessionalism, anti-semitism	Secular	1 (PR)
14	Independent Citizen's Party	Arrow	Syncretic politics	Christian	0
-	Independent Minority Caucus	N/A	Big-tent, minority religious interests	Minority	9 (minority seats)