How the Consensus Commission proposes to form parliament's upper house

The National Consensus Commission today (28 October) submitted its recommendations to the interim government, outlining a detailed process for implementing the July National Charter.

In its proposed July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order, the commission described the structure and formation process of the upper house of parliament.

When will the upper house be formed? 

According to the proposal, the upper house shall be constituted within 45 calendar days after the completion of the constitutional reform by the next parliament. 

To address any obstacles in forming the upper house, the Constitutional Reform Council may introduce necessary provisions, while the government may issue directives to facilitate the process.

How will it be formed?

A total of 100 members of the upper house shall be elected through a proportional representation (PR) system, based on the number of votes obtained by political parties in the lower house election.

What will be its tenure?

The term of the upper house shall be five years from the date of its oath-taking. However, if the lower house is dissolved for any reason, the upper house shall automatically stand dissolved.

Will there be a candidate list?

Political parties shall publish their list of candidates for the upper house simultaneously with the final list of candidates for the general election of the lower house. Each list must include at least 10% women candidates.

However, for the national election to be held immediately after the issuance of the order, it will not be necessary to publish any candidate list for the upper house.

What will be the duties and role of the upper house?

The commission included recommendations regarding the duties and role of the upper house.

It has been stated that the upper house will review proposed legislation from the lower house. The upper house will not have the power to enact laws on its own; however, it may propose legislation to the lower house on matters of national importance. 

All bills passed by the lower house, except money bills and confidence motions, must be presented to the upper house for approval. The upper house cannot permanently block any bill.

If the upper house delays a bill for more than two months, the bill will be considered approved by the upper house.

If the upper house approves a bill, it will then be sent to the President for assent, after being passed by both houses.

In cases where the upper house sends a bill back with amendment recommendations, the lower house may fully or partially accept or reject the proposed amendments.

If a bill returned by the upper house is passed again in the lower house, it will be sent to the President for assent without further approval from the upper house. 

Any bill related to constitutional amendments must be passed by a simple majority in the upper house.