This 'nuts and bolts' discussion is a deeper dive into how elections work and the calendar of the government.
The Kingdom of Edan uses Greenwich Mean Time for all governmental purposes although local time is usually also included for ease of understanding.
General elections for the Senate are held every two years and are overseen by the Ministry of State. Voting begins at 1 minutes after Midnight on the 1st of March and ends 1 minute before midnight on the 2nd of March, giving citizens just under 48 hours to cast their votes. In general it is believed that voting will be permitted by electronic communications as well as in person.
In certain cases a special election will be needed. Special elections are scheduled and announced by the Ministry of State and the voting period lasts for 72 hours.
All senate elections use the single transferable vote proportional representation system with voting groups decided by the Ministry of State as needed. It is expected that citizens will be divided into groups that select between 4 and 8 senators, probably based upon fiefdoms.
All votes will be tallied and a complete count will be done at least twice. If more than 7 counts are required the Ministry of Justice shall assist with counts and in the unlikely event of a tie a run-off elections will be held until elections are complete.
The Assembly (which is the Senate and the Council) has 1 session each year; a session is the period when the legislature is available to performs its duty. Each year's session lasts from March 8th and ends on October 31st unless one or both days fall upon a Sunday - if that happens the date is delayed until the following Monday.
The session is divided into conclaves of eight weeks each with a recess of 2 weeks in between. The conclaves are periods of active legislation while the recesses are for discussion, time with citizens, relaxation, etc. The period of a session contains enough time for 3 conclaves plus an addition 4 weeks; the extra time is in case the budget process is delayed, to accommodate government holidays (which do not count as part of the time of a conclave!), or if there is a need for a special election.
The First Senator may request a null conclave - this is, essentially, a conclave where no work is done. The First Senator may ask once per session and the King may refuse the request.
The grand conclave is held each year on the 15th of November. On that day the tax schedule for the upcoming year is published and the King makes his address to the people on the state of the kingdom and the upcoming year.
Members of the Council may assign a proxy to serve in their stead (usually due to illness or military service).A council member who fails in their duties to the legislature (not attending and not assigning a proxy) by lose their noble status.
Senators must vote on each proposed law introduced during a conclave, Failure to vote in 3 consecutive conclaves means they are removed from the Senate. In an exception, once per term a senator may request a leave of absence of up to two conclaves.
The High Tribunal meets in session from the first Monday in February until the first Monday in November. The High Tribunal may take two recesses per year, each lasting a month and each separated by at least 2 months.
On to more direct information.
In general the royal and noble governments do no non-essential business on Sundays or Holy Days of Obligation. Emergency services will, of course, always be available.
King Richard has created a list of days in which the government is restricted to essential work only;
Fixed:
January 1st - the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
January 6th - the Epiphany
March 19th - the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
April 1st - Constitution Day
June 29th - the Solemnity of the Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
August 15th - the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
August 19th - the King's Birthday
August 25th - the Feast of St. Louis IX
September 22nd - the Feast of St. Maurice
November 1st - All Saints' Day
December 8th - the Feast of Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
December 24th through December 31st - The Nativity of the Lord and the beginning of Christmastide
Movable:
Ash Wednesday
Holy Week and Easter Monday
The Ascension
Whit Monday
The Feast of Corpus Christi
Local nobles may set their own holidays, of course.
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