General Council of the Valleys
Encyclopedia
The General Council is the unicameral parliament
of Andorra
. It is sometimes referred to as the General Council of the Valleys (Catalan: Consell General de les Valls) because it was the historical name and to distinguish it from similarly named bodies in the Val d'Aran
and in France
.
system:
The parish lists and the national list are independent of one another: the same person cannot appear on both the national list and on a parish list, and voters cast two separate ballots (there is no requirement to vote for the same party for both lists).
This is a recent development; originally, the seven parishes
had each returned four deputies. However, as parishes varied in population from 350 to 2,500, this was felt to be significantly imbalanced, and the national list system was introduced for the 1997 elections to counter the disproportionate power held by the smallest parishes.
The Council appoints a presiding officer, titled the Síndic general, and a deputy, the subsíndic. The current Síndic general is Vicenç Mateu Zamora of the Democrats for Andorra.
The General Council (subject to approval of the Co-Princes) elects the Head of Government, who presides over the Executive Council. The Head of Government appoints the remaining seven members of the Executive Council. The current Head of Government, is needs updated.
The most recent Andorran parliamentary election
was April 2011.
The General Council has the second-highest proportion of women legislators (behind the lower house of the Rwandan legislature
), with 15 out of it's 28 members, a 53% majority, being women.
The reforms were masterminded by Guillem de Areny i de Plandolit, and had several effects:
In the 1930s, matters again began to boil over; one point of particular contention was that the Council had begun regularly referring to Andorra as a republic, which understandably caused some contention with the co-princes. The General Council was dissolved on their order in June 1933, and a special election called to re-elect it. The opportunity was taken to change the voting laws; at this point, all men over twenty-five could vote, and all men over thirty stand for election.
In 1970 the vote was extended to women over twenty-five; in 1971 the qualifying age for all electors was lowered to twenty-one, and that of candidates to twenty-five. Women gained the right to run for office in 1973, and in 1978 a referendum
was held on the matter of further reform.
Later that year, a seventh parish (Escaldes-Engordany
) was formed, bringing the numbers of councillors to twenty-eight.
In 1982, the Executive Council was created, comprising the Executive Council President and four councillors with ministerial duties.
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
of Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
. It is sometimes referred to as the General Council of the Valleys (Catalan: Consell General de les Valls) because it was the historical name and to distinguish it from similarly named bodies in the Val d'Aran
Val d'Aran
The Val d'Aran is a valley in the Pyrenees mountains and a comarca in the northwestern part of the province of Lleida, in Catalonia, northern Spain. Most of the valley constitutes the only part of Spain, and of Catalonia, on the north face of the Pyrenees, hence the only part of Catalonia whose...
and in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Organization
There are twenty-eight "general councillors", who are elected for four-year terms based on party lists in a closed listClosed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list proportional representation where voters can only vote for political parties as a whole and thus have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected...
system:
- two general councillors from each of the seven parishesParishes of AndorraAndorra consists of seven communities known as parishes . Until relatively recently, it had only six parishes; the seventh, Escaldes-Engordany, was created in 1978....
, elected from the list with most votes in each parish; - fourteen general councillors elected from national lists using the largest remainder methodLargest remainder methodThe largest remainder method is one way of allocating seats proportionally for representative assemblies with party list voting systems...
of proportional representationProportional representationProportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
.
The parish lists and the national list are independent of one another: the same person cannot appear on both the national list and on a parish list, and voters cast two separate ballots (there is no requirement to vote for the same party for both lists).
This is a recent development; originally, the seven parishes
Parishes of Andorra
Andorra consists of seven communities known as parishes . Until relatively recently, it had only six parishes; the seventh, Escaldes-Engordany, was created in 1978....
had each returned four deputies. However, as parishes varied in population from 350 to 2,500, this was felt to be significantly imbalanced, and the national list system was introduced for the 1997 elections to counter the disproportionate power held by the smallest parishes.
The Council appoints a presiding officer, titled the Síndic general, and a deputy, the subsíndic. The current Síndic general is Vicenç Mateu Zamora of the Democrats for Andorra.
The General Council (subject to approval of the Co-Princes) elects the Head of Government, who presides over the Executive Council. The Head of Government appoints the remaining seven members of the Executive Council. The current Head of Government, is needs updated.
Membership
Political parties are a recent innovation; the first party was formed in 1976, and they only gained legal recognition in 1992.The most recent Andorran parliamentary election
Andorran parliamentary election, 2011
Early parliamentary elections were held in Andorra on 3 April 2011 after the General Council of Andorra was dissolved over problems in passing important laws, including the budget and laws related to a value added tax....
was April 2011.
The General Council has the second-highest proportion of women legislators (behind the lower house of the Rwandan legislature
Chamber of Deputies of Rwanda
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the bicameral national legislature of Rwanda.It was created under the new Constitution adopted by referendum in 2003....
), with 15 out of it's 28 members, a 53% majority, being women.
History
The first parliament in Andorra was established in 1419, as the Consell de la Terra. Councillors were elected by the population, and the council appointed syndics to manage the administration of the principality. It remained in force for several hundred years, slowly becoming the fiefdom of a few major families; this caused popular discontent by the nineteenth century, and major reforms were instituted in 1866http://www.worldstatesmen.org/andorra_1866.txt.The reforms were masterminded by Guillem de Areny i de Plandolit, and had several effects:
- The Consell de la Terra was abolished, and replaced by the Consell General de las Valls, with a syndic and vice-syndic
- The franchiseSuffrageSuffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
was extended to all heads of families - Regular elections were laid down; in this case, twelve of the twenty-four (as there then were) councillors were to be elected every two years
In the 1930s, matters again began to boil over; one point of particular contention was that the Council had begun regularly referring to Andorra as a republic, which understandably caused some contention with the co-princes. The General Council was dissolved on their order in June 1933, and a special election called to re-elect it. The opportunity was taken to change the voting laws; at this point, all men over twenty-five could vote, and all men over thirty stand for election.
In 1970 the vote was extended to women over twenty-five; in 1971 the qualifying age for all electors was lowered to twenty-one, and that of candidates to twenty-five. Women gained the right to run for office in 1973, and in 1978 a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
was held on the matter of further reform.
Later that year, a seventh parish (Escaldes-Engordany
Escaldes-Engordany
Escaldes-Engordany is one of the parishes of Andorra. The parish is composed of the areas of les Escaldes, Engordany, Els Vilars d'Engordany, Engolasters, and El Fener. As of 2005 it has a population of 16,918. Notable events include the town's annual jazz festival....
) was formed, bringing the numbers of councillors to twenty-eight.
In 1982, the Executive Council was created, comprising the Executive Council President and four councillors with ministerial duties.
See also
- List of First Syndics of the General Council of the Valleys (Andorra)
- List of General Syndics of the General Council of the Valleys (Andorra)