Caucus (Kiravian politics)

In Kiravian politics, a caucus (Kiravic: kadastra) is a political group in the Federal Stanora. Roughly analogous to Occidental parliamentary groups, each caucus is a group of Delegates who are broadly aligned with one another under, typically on the basis of a shared programme or ideological mantle. Political parties, defined in this context as organised groups that both direct the activity of politicians in office and finance or manage electoral campaigns, are prohibited on the federal level. As such, caucuses (which only direct legislative activity and do not participate in elections) are the main structure facilitating political identification, agenda formulation, and the negotiation of coalitions in the Stanora.

There are currently nine caucuses registered with the Stanora's Recording Secretary:

• Authentic Historical Caucus
• Caritist Social Union
• Coscivian National Congress
• Federalist Republican Alliance
• Kiravian Free Alliance
• Labour Front of Kirav
• Popular Democratic Front
• Regional Kiravia Caucus
• Union of Democrats & Independents

Three other caucuses have become defunct in recent memory:

• Third Front - Dissolved after the collapse of the Green Party.
• Liberty Group - Merged in 2021 to form the Kiravian Free Alliance.
• Direct Democratic Front - Merged in 2021 to form the Kiravian Free Alliance.

Relation to Conferences, Parties, and Elections

Ordinarily, each caucus is associated with one or more conferences (ostraróatnura, plaidūróatnura), which are national associations formed by provincial political parties to coördinate their programmes, messaging, and strategy. Candidates endorsed by a provincial party pledge that, if elected to the Stanora, they will sit with the caucus associated with the caucus associated with the conference to which their party belongs. For example, the Wetlands Protection Party of Knassania State belongs to the Pan-Kiravian Green Platform, a conference of eco-conservative parties. As the PKGP is associated with the Authentic Historical Caucus, candidates endorsed by the Wetlands Protection Party pledge to sit with the AHC if elected.

It is not uncommon for multiple parties in a single province to pledge to the same caucus, usually through different conferences. In such cases, the parties will usually agree to coëndorse a joint slate of candidates for federal elections, even if they field separate slates for provincial elections. Parties sometimes fail to agree and proceed to field separate slates, though this is viewed unfavourably by the political class and much effort is expended to avoid it.

In some provinces, the caucus to which a slate of candidates are pledged appears on the ballot paper, while in others it does not and must be broadcast during the campaign process if not common knowledge.

This arrangement is flexible and subject to post-election adjustments. A candidate's preëlection pledge to a particular caucus is not legally binding, and a candidate may renege on it or flip caucuses later during the legislative session, though this would be poorly received if done without sound justification or against the wishes of the candidate's home party. Entire parties or conferences may switch allegiances, typically taking any elected Delegates with them, and caucuses can form, dissolve, fissure, and merge during a session. Some parties and candidates do not pledge to a caucus, and may negotiate entry to a caucus after the election or sit as non-inscrits. Not pledging to a caucus may be principled (to signal policy disagreement or political independence) or strategic (to extract political concessions as a condition of joining). This degree of instability in caucus formation complicates the concurrent process of coalition formation.

Role in Coalition Formation

In the Kiravian system of coalitional presidentialism, caucuses are the primary negotiating blocs involved in the formation of majority coalitions (to elect the Chancellor and gain procedural control of the Stanora) and of the pro- and anti-administration "camps" (léran) to implement a common agenda with the Prime Executive or oppose the Prime Executive's agenda, respectively. The Prime Executive's aim is to assemble majority support for their administration: He and his interlocutors mainly negotiate with caucus leaders who, with the aid of their Whips, are expected to deliver their caucus' votes. It is sometimes necessary for both Kroveniren Hall and caucus leadership to expend extra effort to rein in dissenting members of a compliant caucus, and/or recruit defectors from opposition caucuses or among the non-inscrits. If efforts to bring a majority of Delegates into the pro-administration camp fail, and the anti-administration camp succeeds in electing a Chancellor, the polity enters a period of divided government.

Legal Basis and Distinction from Parties

See: Antipartisan law in Kiravia

Article Q of the Fundamental Statute prohibits political parties on the Federal level.

Caucuses are not corporate entities and have no legal personality. They may not hold money or own property, collectively nominate or endorse candidates for office, or coördinate the activity of organisations that do participate in elections. Caucuses are legislative groups that do not exist outside the Stanora, and although executive-branch officials are often ideologically or historically linked to a particular caucus, they cannot be formal members.

Because caucuses cannot own or rent property in their own name, some make use of a "headquarters foundation", a separate but supporting entity organised under political finance law, to hold down office space. The SRA and CNC use these.

most operate base their headquarters in private homes or condominia in the District of Ksoīnvra as guests of the owners, who are generally former members or longtime supporters of the caucus. Staff are not employed by the caucus itself, but instead belong to the "legislative strategy staff" of individual members and are "loaned out" to the caucus.

In keeping with the ideal of the caucus as an informal grouping, little formal recognition is given to caucuses in Stanoral procedure. At the beginning of each legislative session, the caucuses may identify themselves and their leaders to the Recording Secretary, and Delegates may declare their caucus affiliation for the record. The Chancellor of the Stanora may call the caucus leaders to convene in a "committee of notables" in order to form a consensus on major pieces of legislation, but otherwise caucus leaders are not formally differentiated from rank-and-file Delegates.

Support Networks

In order to approximate the usual functions of a national-level political party, caucuses rely upon an associated networks of other organisations that are themselves subject to strict regulations regarding which activities they can undertake, how they can be funded, and how they can coördinate with one another. These organisations include:

• Headquarters Foundations - The buildings in Kartika housing offices for the caucus' loaned staff, policy advisors, associated conferences, and newspapers are privately-owned and host the caucus "guests". The headquarters of the SRA, CSU, CNC, and NDA are owned by dedicated nonprofit "headquarters foundations", which exist for the sole purpose of maintaining these properties. The CR, Agrarians, LG, and DDF are headquartered in large private homes in Kartika owned by wealthy supporters. Kiravia of Regions does not have a single headquarters, instead running various aspects of its operations from individual KoR Delegates' offices. Its interstate conference has its permanent offices in rented space at №12, 16-ram, K-District, Kartika.

• Platform Committees - Because caucuses do not exist outside of the legislative branch and the Prime Executure has been a nonpartisan office since the passage of the Xth Amendment under Ivardus Kólsylvar, candidates for Prime Executive and Second Executive do not run on party tickets or ballot-lines. They do, however, make use of "platform committees" made up of other politicians and civil society figures who support their candidacy. Notionally, these committees' are meant to help draft and communicate the candidate's policy plaftorm, but in practice their main function is to signal the candidate's ideological leanings and mobilise partisan voters. Platform committees are often seen as extensions of the caucus with which their candidate is most closely associated, but it is not uncommon for this association to be unclear (such as in the case of independent Governors from states with strict anti-partisan laws) nor for platform committees to attract support from two or more caucuses in an effort to appeal to a larger voter base.

• UltraPACs

• Aligned Interests -

Leadership and Structure

Although the internal governance of caucuses is not prescribed by law or by Stanoral procedure, all of the caucuses currently operating in the Stanora share the same administrative structure.

The caucus' affairs are governed by a Political Committee elected from among the caucus membership. The Political Committee is responsible for determining the caucus' platform, policy goals, and membership, and is led by a Secretary-General, who is typically an elder statesman serving as the ideological anchor of the caucus. Legislative operations are overseen by an elected Chairman, who appoints a Whip to enforce caucus discipline.