Bhutan parliament house

Bhutan has monarchy and it is a bicameral parliament made up of an upper house, the National council and a lower house, the National Assembly. It replaced the nicameral Tshogdu in 2007, with the first members taking seats in 2008.

The new democratic system comprises an upper and lower house, the latter based on political party affiliations. Election for the upper house (National Council) were held on December 31, 2007, while elections for the lower house, the 47-seat National Assembly.

Bermuda parliament house

The parliament of Bermuda has two chambers. Originally, there was only one, the House of Assembly, which held its first session in 1620, making Bermuda's Parliament amongst the World's oldest legislatures. An appointed Privy Council originally performed roles similar to that of an upper house, and of a cabinet. This was replaced with an appointed upper house, the Senate, in the 1960s, and a Cabinet composed from Members of Parliament from the party with the most seats in the lower house. A Premier was introduced as leader of the ruling party, and an official opposition.

The House of assembly has 36 members, elected for a five year term in single seat constituencies. The Senate has 11 appointed members.

Benin parliament house

The National Assembly of Benin signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AWEPA

The Speaker of the National Assembly of Benin, H.E. Koto, and the Secretary General of AWEPA, Mr. Granstedt, signed a MoU during the EU Presidency Seminar for the West African Region "Strengthening the Role of Parliamentary Oversight and Budget Control in African Development - focus on NEPAD and CAADP", which took place 3-4 October 2007 in Cotonou, Benin.

Belize parliament house

Belize has parliamentary democratic form of government, and a constitutional monarchy.

The structure of government is based on the British parliamentary system, and the legal system is modeled on the common law of England. The current head of state is Queen of England who, as Queen of Belize, is represented in the country by the Governor-General. However, the cabinet, led by a Prime Minister, who is head of Government, acting as advisors to the governor general, in practice exercise executive authority. Cabinet ministers are members of the majority political party in parliament and usually hold elected seats within it concurrent with their cabinet positions.

Belgium parliament house

The reconstruction of the building of the Belgian Chambers, which was destroyed by fire in 1883, is nearly completed, and it will be ready for use at the opening of next session, which, according to the Constitution, must take place on the second Tuesday of November.

Belgian Parliament is a bicameral parliament. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives
The Chamber of Representatives holds its plenary meetings in the Palace of the Nation, Brussels. Eligibility requirements for the Chamber are a minimum age of 21, citizen, and residency in Belgium.

The number of seats in the Chamber is constitutionally set at 150 elected from 11 electoral districts. The districts are divided along linguistic lines: Flemish (79 seats), Waloon (49 seats), and the bilingual district of Brussels Halle Vilvoorde (22 seats). The districts are the provinces, except for the districts of Leuven and Brussels Halle Vilvoorde. The current composition was elected in 2007.

Belarus parliament house

Belarus is a presidential republic, governed by a president and the National Assembly. In accordance with the constitution, the president is elected once every five years. The National Assembly is a bicameral parliament comprising the 110-member House of Representatives (the lower house) and the 64-member Council of the Republic (the upper house). The House of Representatives has the power to appoint the prime minister, make constitutional amendments, call for a vote of confidence on the prime minister, and make suggestions on foreign and domestic policy. The Council of the Republic has the power to select various government officials, conduct an impeachment trial of the president, and accept or reject the bills passed by the House of Representatives. Each chamber has the ability to veto any law passed by local officials if it is contrary to the Constitution of Belarus.

Barbados parliament house

Originally, a Mace was a symbol of authority, granted by or exercised on behalf of the King or Queen, under a royal warrant including or covering such matters as the collection of taxes. Reluctant taxpayers would find the Mace used as a weapon to enforce their payment and submission. This was the earlier, shorter version of the Mace and was carried by a Sargeant-at-Arms on duty and by soldiers in combat.

King Henry V first arranged in 1415 for a Sargeant-at-Arms, Nicholas Maudit, to wait on the House of Commons with a Mace, the property of the King, as the royal authority by which the privileges of the House would be enforced through the Speaker, a practice which became permanent and continues to this day. The Mace is a symbol of the authority of the Speaker and members of the House.

The Mace of the Barbados House of Assembly is made of silver gilt and was acquired at public expense pursuant to a Resolution passed by the House on November 20, 1810. From 1639 until then there was no Mace.

The Mace is carried by the Sargeant-at-Arms (in Barbados by the Marshal) before the Speaker for the opening and conclusion of each sitting. When the House is in session and when a sitting is suspended, the Mace is placed in a cradle on the Clerks’ Table with the orb and cross towards the Government who always sit to the right of a Speaker’s Chair in the Commonwealth. When the House is in Committee of the Whole House, and also before the election of a Speaker, the Mace is placed on brackets below the Clerks’ Table.

When the House attends the Senate Chamber for a sitting of Parliament (Head of State, Senate and House of Assembly) the Mace is carried before the Speaker and members of the House, who proceed in order of seniority of membership, and it should be left outside the Senate Chamber covered until the Speaker and members of the House of Assembly leave the Chamber.

Bangladesh parliament house

Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban (Parliament House) is the National Assembly building of Bangladesh, located at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar has distinctive architectural features. Designed by the famous architect Louis I. Kahn, it may be called an architectural wonder of this region.

National Assembly is the national parliament of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh consists of 345 seats including 45 women reserves seats distributed on elected party position in the parliament in the parliament. They are called Members of Parliament or MPs.

The leader of the party (or alliance parties holding the majority of seats is the Prime Minister, and Chief Executive of the government.
The President of Bangladesh, who is the ceremonial head of state, chosen by parliament.

Bahrain parliament house

Preparations are in full swing to start reclamation work for the new state-of-the-art BD 19 million National Assembly.Shura Council chairman Ali Saleh Al Saleh and Parliament chairman Khalifa Al Dhahrani discussed the project with Works and Housing Minister Fahmi Al Jowder. The landmark development, commissioned by His Majesty King Hamad, is expected to be completed in 2010.

It will be constructed on a 10-hectare artificial island on Shaikh Daij Highway, off the Marina Club fountain.

Designs have been inspired by Arab and Islamic architecture to epitomise principles enshrined in Bahrain's constitution.

It will include three main halls, offices for MPs and committees, a hi-tech library, conference rooms, parking lot and research facilities.

Bahamas, The parliament house

The Parliament of the Bahamas is bicameral (Consisting of two chambers) with an appointed Senate and an elected House of Assembly. Her Majesty the Queen, represented by the Governor General is also part of the Bahamas Parliament.

The First meeting of Parliament (General Assembly) took place on 29th September 1729 and was made up of twenty-four members representing the Islands of New Providence, Eleuthera and Harbour Island.

The Parliament is mandated by Article 52(l) of the Constitution to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Bahamas. The Constitution authorizes Parliament to make laws by passing Bills. In addition to its constitutional functions Parliament maintains oversight of Government’s financial matters through the Public Accounts Committee.

Parliament is the forum where public policy and matters of national importance are debated.

Azerbaijan parliament house

The National Assembly is the legislative branch of government in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan's first parliament was elected in 1995. The present 125-member, previously 100 members were elected by proportional representation. All 125 members are returned from single-member constituencies. Unicameral parliament was elected in November 2005.

Austria parliament house

Parliament of Austria (Österreichisches Parliament) contains the legislative power of the Republic of Austria. The consists of two chambers,

National Council have 183 member who are elected directly in general elections. Their term of office is five year.

Federal Council have variable membership, currently 62 member, elected indirectly through provincial diets. Revolving membership have term of delegates varies by province.

The Federal Assembly is a body of mostly ceremonial function, consisting of the members of both houses of parliament. The Federal Assembly convenes only rarely, for instance to witness the inauguration of the Federal President. It might be noted, however, that under exceptional circumstances the Austrian consitution endows the Federal Assembly with significant responsibilities. An example of this would be its pivotal role in the hypothetic impeachment of a Federal President.

Both houses of parliament are located on Vienna’s Ringstra.

Australia parliament house

House of Representative is decorated in green in a reflection of House of Commons at Britain. However, the colour is muted to suggest the colour of eucalyptus leaves.

From the perspective of the image to the right, the press gallery is ahead, with public galleries to the left and right. Soundproofed galleries for school groups lie directly above these, as no talking is permitted when the House is sitting.

Frontbench (Cabinet) members approach the table with the ornate box, known as the dispatch box, to speak. Backbenchers have a microphone on their desk, and merely stand to speak (unless they cannot stand), in accordance with standing order sixty.

As is the custom with Westmister parliaments, members of the governing party sit to the Speaker’s right, and the Opposition sits to the Speaker's left. Independents and minor parties sit on the cross-benches. The long benches (the front benches closest to the despatch boxes are reserved for the cabinet on the government's side and the Shadow Cabinet on the Opposition's side.

Aruba parliament house

In August 1947, Aruba presented its first "Staatsreglement" (constitution, for Aruba's "status aparte" as the status of a completely separate and autonomous state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, under the authority of the Dutch crown. This is the same as in the UK's Statute of Westminister, an equal status of the Dominion Parliaments with the British Parliament, where the Dominions were under the authority of the crown and not of the government of the UK.

In November 1955, J. Irausquin of Aruba's PPA political party spoke in front of the United Nations Trust Committee. He ended his speech saying that in the future there will be changes to come.

In 1972, at a conference in Suriname, Betico Croes (MEP) proposed a "sui-generis" Dutch Commonwealth of four states: Aruba, the Netherlands, Suriname and the Netherlan Antilles, each with its own nationality. Mr. C. Yarzagaray, a parliamentary member representing the AVP political party, proposed a referendum for the people of Aruba to determine Aruba's separate status or "Status Aparte" as a full autonomous state under the crown. He proclaimed: "Aruba shall never accept a federation and a second class nationality."

Armenia parliament house

The Armenian government's stated aim is to build a Western-style parliamentary democracy as the basis of its form of government. It has universal suffrage above the age of eighteen.

International observers of have questioned the fairness of Armenia's parliamentary and presidential elections and constitutional referendum since 1995, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the Electrol Commission, and poor maintenance of electoral lists and polling places. Freedom House categorized Armenia in its 2008 report as a "Semi-consolidated Authoritarian Regime” and ranked Armenia 20th among 29 nations in transition, with a Democracy Score of 5.21 out of 7 (7 represents the lowest democratic progress). Since 1999. Furthermore, Freedom House ranked Armenia as “partly free in its 2007 report, though it did not categorise Armenia as an "electoral democracy", indicating an absence of relatively free and competitive elections.

Argentina parliament house

The Congress of the Argentine Nation is the legislative of the government of Argentina.
Situated at the end of Avenida de Mayo, at the other end of which is located the Casa Rosada, Argentina's parliament is made up of the 72-seat Argentine Senate and the 256-seat Argentine Chamber of Deputies.

Designed by the Italian architect Vittorio Meano and completed by Argentine architect Julio Dormal, the building was under construction between 1898 and 1906. Inaugurated that year, its aesthetic details were not completed until 1946. Local sculptor Lola Mora graced the interior halls and exterior alike with numerous allegorical bronzes. As time went by, the building proved too small for its purpose, and in 1974 the construction of the Annex, which now holds the Deputies' offices.

This was created facing the building by French Argentine urbanist Charles Thays and inaugurated in 1910. Popular among tourists, the plaza is also a preferred location for protestors and those who want to voice their opinion about Congress' activities.

Afghanistan parliament house

Afghan president Hamid Karzai formally inaugurated the maiden session of the country’s first-ever parliament amid tight security here on Monday.
In his opening remarks, the President described it as a historic day and congratulated to the war-weary Afghans.
Convened in a renovated parliament house, the president urged the legislators to work for the betterment of the people of their war-battered land.
Majority of the 351 members of the two-chamber house are the former foes who fought against each other for power and were involved in the past 25 years of war, civil strife and imposing Taliban’s strict and authoritarian rule in major parts of the country.
A number of foreign delegates including US Vice President Deck Cheney have attended the parliament session to represent their governments.
As a precautionary measure, all the roads leading to the parliament house as well as important government building have been closed and the vehicles entering the city are thoroughly checked.