The National Government of the Democratic Republic of Gragastavia

The National Government of the Democratic Republic of Gragastavia, otherwise known as the Gragastavian government, is the central government of the Democratic Republic of Gragastavia, which replaced the former parliamentary system under that had remained in place since 1833 with the Abdication Crisis. Following the reformation under King Siegfried II and his abdication shortly thereafter, the government was restructured to a federal presidential system. While the court system remained largely intact as it was before, the executive and the legislature were split into two separate branches of government.

The executive branch consists of the Office of the President and the federal bureaucracy. Largely, the Presidency assumed the political responsibilities of the Prime Minister and the ceremonial responsibilities of the King of Gragastavia. The President of Gragastavia is the head of state and head of government, as well as commander-in-chief of Gragastavia's military and federal paramilitary forces. While the president's power to control the lawmaking process is limited due to the separation of powers inherent in the Constitution of the New Democratic Republic, he nevertheless exerts considerable influence through the power to sign and veto legislation, his appointment of congressional officers, and his powers as the ex officio chair of his respective party. As head of the bureaucracy, the president is tasked with implemented and executing the laws passed by congress. He has the power to appoint and fire ambassadors, cabinet-level ministers, and department-level officers (though department-level officers are usually appointed by the respective minister), issue regulations through the federal agencies, negotiate treaties, and nullify or modify local or provincial legislation that may contradict federal legislation.

The President of Gragastavia is directly elected by national popular vote for a four-year term. The Vice President of Gragastavia can be elected on a joint ticket, although there is no requirement for a candidate for president to nominate a vice president during the election. A vice president can be nominated and confirmed like any other cabinet-level position after the election. No term limits are imposed on the president or vice president, allowing both to legally serve indefinitely.

Farouk Al-Hussein is the current President of Gragastavia. He was appointed to serve as head of the provisional government by King Siegfried II and ran virtually unopposed in the presidential election in 2020. Prior to his career in politics, he achieved the rank of Major General and served as a corps commander in the King's First Army. In the intervening period between his resignation from the army and his election, Al-Hussein focused on unifying Gragastavia's conservative-leaning political parties into the United Nationalist Front (UNF). This new party melded the remnants of the Islamic Conservative Union, most members having defected to South Gragastavia, the shattered Royalist Party, and the Polatilian-dominant Divinity Party. The UNF won a landslide victory in the first election, securing a supermajority of legislative seats, and Al-Hussein surged into the Presidency. His tenure has been marked by pushes to rebuild the nation's infrastructure after the civil war, reform the civil service and the military to root our corruption and waste, normalize relations with the newly-independent South Gragastavia, and deepen Gragastavia's commitment to the Mutual Assistance League of Eastern Tavlyria (MALET). However, the two largest criticisms levied at him are that his policies are too soft on South Gragastavia and that he is trying to establish a dictatorship. Al-Hussein has routinely denied both allegations, noting to the first that collaborating with South Gragastavia is essential to maintaining Gragastavia's competitive edge in the international energy market, and to the second that the people may vote him out of office each time he runs for re-election.

The federal bureaucracy houses numerous departments under the nine cabinet-level ministries as well as several independent federal agencies and commissions. In order of their succession to the presidency, the ministries are the Ministry of State, the Ministry of Finance (which houses the Treasury Office), the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of State Security, the Ministry of the Economy, Labor, and Economic Planning, the Ministry of Health and Education, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Justice (which houses the Office of the Attorney-General). Noteworthy independent agencies are commissions are the Federal Oil and Petroleum Commission and the Gragastavian Republic Intelligence Transmission Service, better known as the GRITS, both of which hold seats in the cabinet. Others include the Republican Guard Command, the Gragastavian Post Office, the Federal Board of Elections, the Information Oversight Board, and the Independent Regulatory Commerce Commission.

The Gragastavian legislature, known collectively as the Senate, is divided into two branches, the Federal Assembly and the Federal Council.

The Federal Assembly is the lower house and contains a body of 200 directly-elected Delegates. Delegates are sometimes referred to informally as "assemblymen". Apportionment is based on population across a series of nationwide districts, with all districts guaranteed at least one seat and the Al-Duhaba capital district guaranteed at least two seats. Delegates are elected for a two-year term and can serve indefinitely. Most states impose a restriction on how many terms a given person can serve in the Assembly. Each party present in the Assembly elects a leader and a whip, the leader of the majority party, currently the United Nationalist Front, serving as the Assembly Chairman. Additionally, the majority party elects two secretaries and a sergeant-at-arms who serve as floor officers.

The Assembly Chairman is tasked with, among other duties, convening the session. This usually occurs in the first or second week of the calendar year after election results have been finalized. A bill may be introduced by any voting member of the Assembly where appointed members from each party assign them to a committee. Committee members may propose changes during the examination process. Once a bill passes committee, usually by a simple majority vote, it is referred to the floor where floor debate and amendments or revisions can be proposed, although the Assembly has specific regulations on what revisions can be made after a bill reaches the floor. Once the requisite debate period passes, the Assembly Chairman can either call an immediate vote or defer it to a future meeting. Most bills require a simple majority to pass the Assembly and be referred to the Federal Council.

The Federal Council is the upper house and holds 55 seats for directly-elected Councilors. Each of the 14 states receives 3 Councilors to be selected in the manner prescribed by the state's government, though most opt for direct election. The remaining 12 council seats are awarded proportionally to the top three most populous states, with the final seat reserved for the Al-Duhaba capital district. The Al-Duhaba council seat is appointed by the President of Gragastavia. Councilors serve four-year terms and can serve indefinitely. Federal law prohibits states from imposing term limits on Councilors. Each party in the Council elects a member to serve as their leader and another to serve as their whip. The leader of the majority party oversees the chamber by serving as the Council Speaker. The Council Speaker is tasked with appointing members as floor officers and officials to support the Council's business. Additionally, the Council Speaker is an ex officio member of the President's cabinet, although the Council Speaker is not expected to attend cabinet sessions unless requested.

Unlike the Assembly, the Federal Council remains in session year-round and only takes two recesses: one during Ramadan and the other during the two weeks after an election. The Federal Council is charged with maintenance of the government, typically through enabling acts when circumstances require it. The Council Speaker holds the power to propose legislation as requested by the President or when a bill passes the Federal Assembly. In practice, the responsibility for introducing the legislation is usually delegated to a more junior Councilor at the Council Speaker's instruction. The Federal Council retains limited power to introduce legislation on its own, chiefly governmental budgeting, confirmation of judges and officials, ratification of treaties, and oversight for diplomatic endeavors. While the Federal Council, the President, and the Treasury work in tandem to create the budget on an annual basis, the Federal Assembly must ratify the budget, in effect approving disbursement of the funds. For a bill to pass the Federal Council, a simple majority is required for the affirmation of bills passed by the Federal Assembly and a supermajority (40 votes) is required to pass enabling legislation when the Federal Assembly is out of session. Budget bills require only a simple majority, although these usually receive unanimous or near-unanimous approval.

With the exception of non-binding resolutions, any legislation passed by the Senate is subject to approval signature by the President of Gragastavia. The Senate may vote to override a presidential veto only with a 3/4 supermajority in both houses.

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There are four political parties recognized to stand for election in federal-level offices. A candidate must be a member of a political party in order to be authorized as a candidate. The Federal Board of Elections is an independent office in the federal bureaucracy tasked with managing federal elections and continually vetting candidates and parties. The criteria to be recognized as an official party are not publicly known, although it is said that having sizeable donors who can pay the requisite processing fees is the most crucial step to recognition.

The United Nationalist Front (UNF) is the largest party and current ruling power, controlling a trifecta of the Presidency, the Federal Assembly, and the Federal Council. They also control the majority of governorships and state legislatures.

The Islamic Socialist League (ISL) is the second largest party and is the current opposition party in both Senate chambers. They formed in response to the creation of the UNF, combining liberal remnants of the Islamic Conservative Union with the Gragastavian Workers' Party and the Workers' Party of Gragastavia.

The Federal Reform Party (FRP, known colloquially as the "Firps") is one of the few parties that survived intact after the reformation of the government, barring a small name change from the Most Loyal Reform Party.

The People's Democratic Alliance (PDA) is a far-left communist party composed primarily of Falkasian refugees fleeing the fall of the communist government and their Gragastavian communist allies. While they have not managed to secure victory in any federal-level election, they nevertheless maintain recognition as an official political party. Many commentators suggest this is due to the patronage of Boris Bravikov, a former Falkasian Communist Party official who serves as the Economy Minister, though critics allege this is pure conjecture.