Congress of the Lyonine Empire

The Congress of the Lyonine Empire (Lyonine: Congrès de Lyonine Impèri), is the  of the Lyonine Empire.

The Congress consists of two chambers, the upper house Imperial Senate and the lower house known as the House of Councillors. Both houses are generally equal in terms of power, though the Senate is generally seen as the more prestigious of the two houses and has considerable oversight over the executive in terms of appointments and foreign policy. All legislation must be passed with a simple majority in both houses and be signed into law by the sitting Archon. All financial legislation up for consideration must be introduced to the House of Councillors first. Members of the Senate serve for a total of ten years; whilst members of the House of Councillors serve for a period of five years, and are elected at the same time as the Archonl.

The Congress emerged out of the aftermath of the War of Queens which saw House Miramonte deposed and House Arleaux ascend, a period of great reform would ensue over the next half century culminating in the creation of the Congress and the National Charter in 1710. Despite this, the Lyonine Congress has evolved significantly over time, with the most notable change coming in 1868 under the reign of Helene I and Archon Cassian Marsonet's Government, with the move towards proportional-representation for House of Councillor elections and a directly elected Senate. Previously the upper chamber, had been entirely appointed based on the results of Lyonine regional elections.

Following the 2020 elections the Alliance of Centrists lost majority in the Imperial Senate down 8 seats to 48 with 51 needed for a majority, the Greens and Non-Aligned supply support for specific legislation and in No Confidence votes. The second largest party in the upper house is the National Conservatives who gained 12 seats from the 2010 election. In the House of Councillors the AoC maintained majority with 282 seats out of 500. The other major parties within Congress are the National Conservative Party, National Labor League, National Green Party and the Non-Aligned. The smallest party with representation is the Green Party with only 18 in the House and 6 in the Senate.