A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their
electoral district
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
. In many countries with
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
parliaments, this term refers only to members of the
lower house
A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
since
upper house
An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...
members often have a different title. The terms
congressman/congresswoman or
deputy
Deputy or depute may refer to:
* Steward (office)
* Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy"
* Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including:
** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...
are equivalent terms used in other jurisdictions. The term
parliamentarian is also sometimes used for members of parliament, but this may also be used to refer to unelected government officials with specific roles in a parliament and other expert advisers on parliamentary procedure such as the
Senate Parliamentarian
The Parliamentarian of the United States Senate is the official advisor to the United States Senate on the interpretation of Standing Rules of the United States Senate and parliamentary procedure. Incumbent parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ...
in the United States. The term is also used to the characteristic of performing the duties of a member of a legislature, for example: "The two party leaders often disagreed on issues, but both were excellent parliamentarians and cooperated to get many good things done."
Members of parliament typically form
parliamentary group
A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council.
Parliamentar ...
s, sometimes called
caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures.
The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
es, with members of the same
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
.
Westminster system
The Westminster system is a
democratic parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
of
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
modelled after the
politics of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is a unitary state with devolution that is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch, currently Charles III, King of the United Kingdom, is the head ...
. This term comes from the
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...
, the seat of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
.
Australia
A member of Parliament is a member of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
, the lower house of the
Commonwealth (federal) parliament. Members may use "MP" after their names; "MHR" is no longer used. A member of the upper house of the Commonwealth Parliament, the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, is known as a "Senator".
In the
Australian states and territories
The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing pol ...
, "MP" is commonly used. In
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
legislatures, members of the lower house (
legislative assembly or
house of assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...
) also use the post-nominals "MLA" or "MHA" and members of the upper house (
legislative council) use "MLC".
MLCs are informally refer to as upper house MPs.
Bahamas
The
Parliament of the Bahamas
The Parliament of the Bahamas is the bicameral national parliament of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The parliament is formally made up of the sovereign (represented by the governor-general), an appointed Senate, and an elected House of Assem ...
is the bicameral national parliament of Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The parliament is formally made up by the monarch (represented by the governor-general), an appointed Senate, and an elected House of Assembly. It currently sits at Nassau, the national capital.
The structure, functions, and procedures of the parliament are based on the Westminster system.
Bangladesh
In
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, a member of parliament is an individual who serves in the
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
Jatiya Sangsad
The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of ...
or House of the Nation. Members of the Jatiya Sangsad are elected at a
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, usually held once every five years unless Parliament is dissolved sooner by the
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
on the advice of the
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
. Under the
Constitution of Bangladesh
The Constitution of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের সংবিধান — ), officially the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশের ...
, an individual is required to be a citizen of Bangladesh and must have attained the age of 25 years in order to qualify for election to Parliament.
The Parliament consists of 300 directly elected members from general seats elected by use of
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
who represent single-constituencies, while 50 seats are reserved exclusively for women and are allocated on a
proportional basis. After an election, the
Election Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
allocates reserved seats to parties based on the number of general seats they won. A party then presents a list of candidates, each requiring a presenter and a seconder. If the number of candidates presented and seats allocated is equal, then there is no election and the reserved seats are filled in accordance with the candidate lists prepared by parties. In the event there are more candidates than seat allocations, the 300 MPs elected from general seats vote through use of the
single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
system to determine the reserved seats. In reality, there has never been an election for reserved seats as parties have never nominated more candidates than they have been allocated. In order to form a
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
, a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
or
alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
usually requires a
simple majority in Parliament. Since Bangladesh's independence, the Prime Minister has concurrently held the position of
Leader of the House.
Canada
The
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
consists of the
monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
, the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
. Only members of the House of Commons are referred to as Members of Parliament (); members of the Senate are called Senators (). There are currently 105 seats in the Senate and 338 in the House of Commons. Members of Parliament are elected, while senators are appointed by the
governor general
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
on behalf of the sovereign at the direction of the
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
. Retirement is mandatory for senators upon reaching the age of 75 years.
Each province (and territory) has its own legislature, with each member usually known as a
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...
(MLA). In certain provinces, legislators carry other titles:
Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Member of the National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
(MNA) in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
() and
Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) in
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. The provincial upper houses were eliminated through the 20th century.
India
A Member of Parliament is a member of the either of the two houses of
Indian Parliament
The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...
, i.e.,
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
and
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
. As of now, Lok Sabha has 543 seats all of whom are directly elected by the citizens of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
from each parliamentary constituency of states and union territories via
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
election method. As of 2022, Rajya Sabha can have 245 members, in which 238 members are indirectly elected and out of 238, 229 members belongs to the state legislatures and 9 members belongs to Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry, Jammu and Lashmir and elected by using
Single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
method of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
and rest 12 members are nominated by the President for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. Each state has allocated a fixed number of representatives in each chamber, in order of their respective population. As of 2022, the state of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
has the greatest number of representatives in both houses. The person which secures the support of more than half the seats in the Lok Sabha forms the
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. To form the government, parties may form a coalition. The Lok Sabha is the lower house and the Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the bicameral Indian Parliament.
The term of a member of the Rajya Sabha is 6 years, while the Lok Sabha members are elected for a term of 5 years unless the house is dissolved sooner.
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
is a permanent house that is not subject to dissolution, and the (1/3)rd members retires every two years. Vacancies in both houses, whether because of death or resignation of a member has to be filled by using
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
s within six months of the vacancy - the newly elected member in which case serves only the rest of the pending term of the seat they are elected to. The number of seats in both houses is regulated by
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
and parliamentary statutes.
Ireland
Since the formation of the
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...
in 1922 and subsequently in the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
, the legislature of Ireland is known as the
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...
, and consists of the President; the upper house,
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house).
It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...
(or Senate); and lower house,
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
(Assembly, or House of Representatives). They are functionally similar to other bicameral parliaments, with the lower house being significantly more influential and having more power over the creation of legislation. Elections to Dáil Éireann are held at least every five years using the Single Transferable Vote; while Elections to Seanad Éireann are restricted to members of both houses, elected members of local authorities, and alumni of
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...
colleges. 11 Senators are nominated directly by the
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
.
A Member of Dáil Éireann is known as a
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...
(TD) or "Deputy to the Dáil", and addressed as "Teachta" (Deputy), while a Member of the Seanad is known and addressed as Seanadóir (Senator). These titles are used much more commonly in English than the official Irish.
A ''member of Parliament'' was the term used to refer to a member of the pre-1801
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...
of the
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chamb ...
. Irish members elected to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...
were also called ''members of Parliament'' from 1801 to 1922.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
continues to elect MPs to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Jamaica
The Parliament of Jamaica is the legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. It is a bicameral body, composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Representatives. The Senate (upper house), the direct successor of a pre-Independence body known as the "Legislative Council" – comprises 21 senators appointed by the governor-general: thirteen on the advice of the Prime Minister and eight on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition.
The House of Representatives, the lower house, is made up of 63 (previously 60) Members of Parliament, elected to five-year terms on a first-past-the-post basis in single-seat constituencies.
Kenya
The
National Assembly of Kenya
The National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Kenya. Between 1966 and 2013, it served as a unicameral house. In 2013 ( 11th Parliament), it became the lower house when the Senate was reestablish ...
has a total of 349 seats; 205 members are elected from the
constituencies
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
, 47 women are elected from the
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
and 12 members are nominated representatives.
Malaysia
The
Parliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia ( ms, Parlimen Malaysia) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, Literal translation, lit. "People's A ...
consists of the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...
(King) and two houses, the ''
Dewan Rakyat
The Dewan Rakyat (English: 'House of Representatives'; ) is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament, the federal legislature of Malaysia. The chamber and its powers are established by Article 44 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The Dewan Ra ...
'' (the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
) and ''
Dewan Negara
The Dewan Negara (English language, English: Senate; Literal translation, lit. "State Council") is the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia, consisting of 70 senators of whom 26 are elected by the State legislative assemblies of Malaysia, ...
'' (the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
).
The term "members of Parliament" only refers to members of the ''Dewan Rakyat''. In
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
, a member of Parliament is called ''Ahli Parlimen'', or less formally ''wakil rakyat'' (people's representative).
Members of Parliament are elected from population-based single-seat constituencies using
first-past-the-post voting
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
. The
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
must be a member of Parliament.
Members of Parliament are styled ''Yang Berhormat'' ("Honourable") with the initials ''Y.B.'' appended
prenominally. A prince who is a member of Parliament is styled ''Yang Berhormat Mulia''. The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and
Tuns who are members of Parliament are styled ''Yang Amat Berhormat'' ("Most Honourable"), abbreviated Y.A.B.
Malta
The
Parliament of Malta
The Parliament of Malta ( mt, Il-Parlament ta' Malta) is the constitutional legislative body in Malta, located in Valletta. The parliament is unicameral, with a democratically elected House of Representatives and the President of Malta. By const ...
consists of the President of Malta and the House of Representatives of 69 members (article 51 of the Constitution), referred to as "members of Parliament" (article 52(1) of the Constitution). When appointed from outside the House, the Speaker is also considered a member of the Parliament. The Constitution lists the qualifications and disqualifications from serving as a member of Parliament.
Privileges of members of Parliament and their Code of Ethics are laid out in the House of Representatives (Privileges and Powers) Ordinance.
Nauru
The
Parliament of Nauru
The Parliament of Nauru has 19 members, elected for a three-year term in multi-seat constituencies. The President of Nauru is elected by the members of the Parliament. consists of 18 seats. Members of Parliament are entitled to use the prefix ''The Honourable''.
New Zealand
The New Zealand Parliament is made up of the
monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
and the
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
. A ''member of Parliament'' is a member of the House of Representatives, which has a minimum of 120 members, elected at a general election for a three-year term. There are 72
electorate
Electorate may refer to:
* The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate''
* The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806
* An electoral district
An ...
MPs, of which seven are elected only by
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
who have chosen to be registered on a separate Māori electoral roll. The remaining members are elected by
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
from published
party list
An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...
s.
Before 1951, New Zealand had an upper house, the
Legislative Council whose members were appointed. Members of the lower house, the body that still exists, have always been elected. Since 1907, elected members have been referred to as 'Member of Parliament', abbreviated MP. From the 1860s until 1907 they were designated as Member of the House of Representatives, abbreviated MHR. Between the first general election, in
1853
Events
January–March
* January 6 – Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida.
* January 8 – Taiping Reb ...
, and the 1860s, the designation was Member of the General Assembly, abbreviated MGA.
Pakistan
A Member of Parliament is a member of the either of the two houses of Pakistani Parliament, i.e.
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...
and
Senate of Pakistan
Senate of Pakistan or Aiwān-e-Bālā Pākistān ( ur, , , literally "Pakistan upper house"), is the upper legislative chamber of the bicameral legislature of Pakistan, and together with the National Assembly makes up the Parliament of Pakista ...
. National Assembly of Pakistan has total of 342 member where 272 members are directly elected through the election and 70 seats are reserved for women and minorities. The member of national Assembly of Pakistan, MNA has the tenure of 5 years. In the other hand there are 104 total members of Senate of Pakistan, where all the four
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
are represented by 23 senators regardless of population, while the
Islamabad Capital Territory
The Islamabad Capital Territory ( ur, , translit=Vafāqī Dār-alhakūmat) is the only federal territory of Pakistan. Located between the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it includes the country's capital city of Islamabad. The terr ...
is represented by four senators. The member of the Senate of Pakistan, Senator has the tenure of 6 years.
Singapore
''Member of Parliament'' refers to elected members of the
Parliament of Singapore
The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the president of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made up of Members of Parliam ...
, the appointed
Non-constituency Member of Parliament
A Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) is a member of an opposition list of political parties in Singapore, political party in Singapore who, according to the Constitution of Singapore, Constitution and Parliamentary Elections Act, is ...
from the opposition, as well as the
Nominated Members of Parliament
A Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) is a member of the Parliament of Singapore who is appointed by the president. They are not affiliated to any political party and do not represent any constituency. There are currently nine NMPs in the Parl ...
, who may be appointed from members of the public who have no connection to any political party in Singapore.
Sri Lanka
In
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, a ''Member of Parliament'' refers to a member of the
Parliament of Sri Lanka
The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila ...
(since 1978), the
National State Assembly
The National State Assembly (NSA) was the legislative body of Sri Lanka established in May 1972 under the First Republican Constitution. The assembly was introduced by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike under the United Front Government replac ...
(1972–78) and the
House of Representatives of Ceylon
The House of Representatives was the lower chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution. The House was housed in the old State Council building in Galle Face Green, Colombo and met for the ...
(1947–72), the lower house of the
Parliament of Ceylon
The Parliament of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon & Dominion of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution, prior to independence on 4 February 1948. Parliament replaced the State Council of Ceylon.
...
. Members are elected in a
general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
or appointed from the
national lists allocated to
parties
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature fo ...
(and
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
groups) in proportion to their share of the national vote at a general election. A candidate to become an MP must be a Sri Lankan citizen and can be a holder of dual-citizenship in any other country, be at least 18 years of age, and not be a public official or officeholder.
Trinidad and Tobago
The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. The Parliament is bicameral. It consists of the elected House of Representatives, which has 41 members elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies, and the Senate which has 31 members appointed by the President: 16 Government Senators appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, 6 Opposition Senators appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and 9 Independent Senators appointed by the President to represent other sectors of civil society.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom elects members of its parliament:
* the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
, with 650 members elected by the
first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
system to the (lower)
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
, referred to as Members of Parliament, abbreviated to ''MP''
and four devolved legislatures:
* the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
, with 129 members elected under the
additional member system every five years, and each called
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.
Electoral system
The ad ...
(''MSP''; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP)
* the
Northern Ireland Assembly
sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie
, legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly
, coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg
, coa_res = 250px
, house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral
, hou ...
, with 90 members each known as
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...
(''MLA''; ga, Comhalta den Tionól Reachtach, CTR;
Ulster-Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to:
* Ulster Scots people
The Ulster Scots ( Ulster-Scots: ''Ulstèr-Scotch''; ga, Albanaigh Ultach), also called Ulster Scots people (''Ulstèr-Scotch fowk'') or (in North America) Scotch-Irish (''Scotch-Airisch'') ...
: ''Laa-Makkan Forgaitherar'', LMF). (Between 1921 and 1973, Northern Ireland was governed by the bicameral
Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...
. Members of its lower house, the
House of Commons of Northern Ireland
The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the ''Government of Ireland Act 1920''. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished wit ...
, were known as ''Member of Parliament''.)
* the
Senedd (Welsh Parliament)
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...
, with 60 elected members called ''
Member of the Senedd
A Member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; cy, Aelodau o'r Senedd; , plural:) (AS)., group=la is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd ...
'' (''English - MS''); cy, Aelod o'r Senedd, AS)
* the
London Assembly
The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...
, with 25 members elected under the additional member system every four years, called ''Members of the London Assembly'' (''AM'')
MPs are elected in
general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
and by-elections to represent
constituencies
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
, and may remain MPs until Parliament is dissolved, which occurs around five years after the last general election, as laid down in the
Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (c. 14) (FTPA) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that for the first time set in legislation a default fixed election date for a general election to the Westminster parliament. Since the repeal ...
.
A candidate to become an MP must be a British or Irish or Commonwealth citizen, be at least 18 years of age (reduced from 21 in 2006), and not be a public official or officeholder, as set out in the schedule to the
Electoral Administration Act 2006
The Electoral Administration Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed on 11 July 2006.
Among its main provisions, the Act:
* Provides a legislative framework for setting up a "Coordinated Online Record of Electors", kn ...
.
Technically, MPs have no right to
resign
Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...
their seats (though they may refuse to seek re-election). However a
legal fiction
A legal fiction is a fact assumed or created by courts, which is then used in order to help reach a decision or to apply a legal rule. The concept is used almost exclusively in common law jurisdictions, particularly in England and Wales.
Deve ...
allows voluntary resignation between elections; as MPs are forbidden from holding an "
office of profit
An office of profit means a position that brings to the person holding it some financial gain, or advantage, or benefit. It may be an office or place of profit if it carries some remuneration, financial advantage, benefit etc.
It is a term used in ...
under the Crown", an MP wishing to resign will apply for the
Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds
The Chiltern Hundreds is an ancient administrative area in Buckinghamshire, England, composed of three " hundreds" and lying partially within the Chiltern Hills. "Taking the Chiltern Hundreds" refers to one of the legal fictions used to effect r ...
or the
Stewardship of the Manor of Northstead which are nominally, such paid offices and thus result in the MP vacating their seat. (Accepting a salaried Ministerial office does not amount to a paid office under the Crown for these purposes.)
The
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
is a legislative chamber that is part of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Although they are part of the parliament, its members are referred to as
peers
Peers may refer to:
People
* Donald Peers
* Edgar Allison Peers, English academician
* Gavin Peers
* John Peers, Australian tennis player
* Kerry Peers
* Mark Peers
* Michael Peers
* Steve Peers
* Teddy Peers (1886–1935), Welsh international ...
, more formally as ''Lords of Parliament'', not MPs.
Lords Temporal
The Lords Temporal are secular members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament. These can be either life peers or hereditary peers, although the hereditary right to sit in the House of Lords was abolished for all but n ...
sit for life,
Lords Spiritual
The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who serve in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. 26 out of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not counting retired archbi ...
while they occupy their ecclesiastical positions.
Hereditary peers
The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsid ...
may no longer pass on a seat in the House of Lords to their heir automatically. The 92 who remain have been elected from among their own number, following the
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...
and are the only elected members of the Lords.
Zimbabwe
"Members of Parliament" are members of the
House of Assembly of Zimbabwe
The National Assembly of Zimbabwe, previously the House of Assembly until 2013, is the lower house of the Parliament of Zimbabwe. It was established upon Zimbabwe's independence in 1980 as one of two chambers of parliament. Between the abolition ...
. Members of the upper house of Parliament are referred to as Senators.
Other systems
''Member of Parliament'' can be the term (often a translation) for representatives in parliamentary democracies that do not follow the Westminster system and who are usually referred to in a different fashion, such as ''Deputé'' in France, ''Deputato'' in Italy, ''Deputat'' in Bulgaria, ''Parlamentario'' o ''Diputado'' in Spain and Spanish speaking Latin America, ''Deputado'' in Portugal and Brazil, ''Mitglied des
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
es (MdB)'' in Germany. However, better translations are often possible.
Afghanistan
Prior to the takeover of the
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
in August 2021, a ''Member of Parliament (MP)'' was a member of the Lower House of the bicameral Parliament
National Assembly of Afghanistan
The National Assembly ( ps, , Mili Shura, prs, , Shura-e Milli), also known as the Parliament of Afghanistan or simply as the Afghan Parliament, was the legislature of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It was effectively dissolved when the T ...
: a member of the
Wolesi Jirga
The House of Representatives of the People, or Da Afghanistan Wolesi Jirga ( ps, دَ افغانستان ولسي جرګه), was the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, alongside the upper Hous ...
(House of People) held one of the in total 250 seats in the Lower House.
The 102 members of the Upper House
Meshrano Jirga
The House of Elders or Mesherano Jirga ( ps, د افغانستان مشرانو جرګه), was the upper house of the bicameral National Assembly of Afghanistan, alongside the lower House of the People (Wolesi Jirga). It was effectively disso ...
(House of Elders) were called Senators.
Austria
A ''member of Parliament'' is a member of either of the two chambers of the
Parliament of Austria
The Austrian Parliament (german: Österreichisches Parlament) is the bicameral federal legislature of the Austrian Republic. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene ...
(''Österreichisches Parlament''). The members of the
Nationalrat are called ''Abgeordnete zum Nationalrat''. The members of the
Bundesrat, elected by the provincial diets (''
Landtag
A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...
e'') of the nine federal
States of Austria
Austria is a federal republic made up of nine states (German: ''Länder''). Since ''Land'' is also the German word for "country", the term ''Bundesländer'' (literally ''federal states'') is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constitutio ...
, are known as ''Mitglieder des Bundesrats''.
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
In Bulgaria there are 240 members of Parliament ( bg, Народно събрание / Парламент; transliteration Narodno sabranie / Parlament), which are called 'Deputati' (singular Deputat). Moreover, there are 240 MPs in the normal parliament and 400 in the "Great Parliament". The Great Parliament is elected when a new constitution is needed. There have been seven Great Parliaments in modern
Bulgarian history
The history of Bulgaria can be traced from the first settlements on the lands of modern Bulgaria to its formation as a nation-state, and includes the history of the Bulgarian people and their origin. The earliest evidence of hominid occupation d ...
, in 1879, 1881, 1886, 1893, 1911, 1946 and 1990. MPs in Bulgaria are called депутати – ''deputies''.
Cambodia
The ''member of parliament'' ( km, សមាជិកសភា) refers to the elected members of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
. There are 125 members of parliament in total. They are also alternatively called ''member of the National Assembly''. Parliamentary elections are traditionally held every five years with no term limits imposed. The 25
provinces of Cambodia
Cambodia is divided into 25 provinces ( km, ខេត្ត, ). The capital Phnom Penh is not a province but an "autonomous municipality" ( km, រាជធានី, link=no, ; lit. 'Capital'), equivalent to a province governmentally and admi ...
are represented by the members of Parliament in the National Assembly. A constituency may have more than one MP, depending on the population.
Czech Republic
A ''member of Parliament'' is a member of either of the two chambers of the
Parliament of the Czech Republic
The Parliament of the Czech Republic ( cs, Parlament České republiky) or just Parliament ( cs, Parlament) is the legislative body of the Czech Republic, seated in Malá Strana, Prague.
It consists of two chambers, both elected in direct elect ...
, although the term ''member of Parliament of the Czech Republic'' is commonly referred to as ''deputy of the Parliament of the Czech Republic'' (
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
*Czech, ...
: ''Poslanec Parlamentu České republiky''), who is a member of the lower house of the Parliament, the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
. For the upper house, the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, the term ''senator'' is used.
Denmark
In Denmark, a ''member of the Folketinget'' ( da, medlem af Folketinget) is one of the 179 members of the
Folketing
The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands ...
et. The title is almost always shortened to the
initialism
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
"MF".
France
In France, ''member of parliament'' refers to the elected members of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
.
Germany
A ''member of parliament'' refers to the elected members of the federal
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
at the
Reichstag building
The Reichstag (, ; officially: – ; en, Parliament) is a historic government building in Berlin which houses the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's parliament.
It was constructed to house the Imperial Diet (german: Reichstag) of the ...
in Berlin. In German a member is called ' (member of the Federal Diet) or officially ' (member of the German Federal Diet), abbreviated
MdB MDB may refer to:
Computing
* .mdb, a file-extension used in certain versions of Microsoft Access databases
* MDB, a kernel debugger for the Linux kernel.
* MDB, the NASDAQ ticker symbol for MongoDB, a database management system.
* Message Drive ...
and attached .
Unofficially the term ''Abgeordneter'' (, i.e. of a certain electorate) is also common (abbreviated ''Abg.'', never follows the name but precedes it).
In accordance with article 38 of the
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came in ...
, which is the German constitution, "
mbers of the German Bundestag shall be elected in general, direct, free, equal, and secret elections. They shall be representatives of the whole people, not bound by orders or instructions, and responsible only to their conscience." An important though not constitutionally required feature of German parliamentarianism is a slightly modified proportional representation.
The 16 federal
states of Germany (''Länder'') are represented by the Bundesrat at the former
Prussian House of Lords
The Prussian House of Lords (german: Preußisches Herrenhaus) in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Repres ...
, whose members are representatives of the respective ''Länder's'' governments and not directly elected by the people.
Greece
Members of the
Hellenic Parliament
The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule (ancient Greece), Boule of the Greeks, Hellenes, label=none), also kno ...
are known as ''vouleftés'' (βουλευτής, "councillors") in Greek, which is rendered into English as "members of parliament". The ''Vouli'' is a unicameral legislature of 300 constituency members, each elected for a four-year term.
Iceland
Indonesia
Although there are no official definition to what a ''member of parliament'' is, it commonly refers to the elected members of the lower
People's Representative Council
The People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, DPR-RI), also known as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), ...
(), known in Indonesian as (member of the DPR). Members of the upper
Regional Representative Council
The Regional Representative Council ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Daerah, DPD; alternatively translatable as the House of Regions or the House of Regional Representatives or the Senate of Indonesia), is one of two parliamentary chambers in Indonesia ...
() are referred to as ''
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
'', although the term
(member of the DPD) is also widely used. These titles are not used in formal naming convention following a member’s name unlike the Westminster system.
Currently, there are 575 and 136 members in the DPR and the DPD respectively, both elected for a renewable five-year term. Members of the DPR are required to be a member of a registered political party, whereas members of the DPD are independent.
Israel
A ''member of the Knesset'' ( he, חבר הכנסת) is one of the 120 members of the
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
. The title is usually shortened to the
initialism
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
"MK".
Italy
Members of the lower house of the
Italian Parliament
The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitiona ...
, the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
, are known as "deputies" (''deputati''), while members of the upper house, the
Senate of the Republic, are know as "senators" (''senatori''). Deputies and senators may use the style "The Honourable" (''Onorevole''). There are currently 400 deputies and 200 senators, who are elected in general elections held every five years. The
President of the Italian Republic
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
nominates five
senators for life
A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , six Italian senators out of 206, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...
(''senatori a vita''). List of presidents of Italy, Emeritus Presidents of the Republic are also appointed senators for life. The two houses of parliament together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical functions, but do so separately.
Japan
In Japan, both houses of today's national parliament, the National Diet (''Kokkai''), are directly elected, and although the two chambers differ in legislative and political authority, term length and age restriction of eligibility, the members of both houses are generally equal in personal status (financial compensation, immunity, etc.). There are currently 710 members of the National Diet (''Kokkai giin'', 国会議員): 465 House of Representatives (Japan), members of the House of Representatives (''Shūgiin giin'', 衆議院議員) and 245 House of Councillors (Japan), members of the House of Councillors (''Sangiin giin'', 参議院議員). The former are elected in Elections in Japan, general/by-/repeat elections of members of the House of Representatives ''(Shūgiin giin sō-/hoketsu-/sai-senkyo)'', the latter in Elections in Japan, regular/by-/repeat elections of members of the House of Councillors ''(Sangiin giin tsūjō-/hoketsu-/sai-senkyo)''. Under the postwar constitution, the Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister is elected by the National Diet and must be a member of the National Diet, as must the majority of other ministers; by practice, all prime ministers since 1947 have been members of the House of Representatives so far.
Under the constitution of the Empire of Japan, the National Diet#History, Imperial Diet (''Teikoku-gikai'') was a bicameral legislature of two houses, generally equal in legislative authority, and while the members of both houses received the same financial compensation - from 1920 and 1947, Japanese yen, ¥7500 for the two presidents, ¥4500 for the two vice-presidents, ¥3000 for all other members of both houses, except Imperial princes, dukes and marquesses - their status was different by definition: The upper house consisted mainly of hereditary nobles and lifetime-appointed peers, the lower house of elected commoners. In the First Imperial Diet in 1890, there were initially 551 members of the Imperial Diet (''Teikoku-gikai giin'', 帝国議会議員, or in Kyūjitai, contemporaneous script 帝國議會議員): 251 House of Peers (Japan), members of the House of Peers (''Kizokuin giin'', 貴族院議員) and 300 members of the House of Representatives ''(Shūgiin giin)''; of the House of Peers members, 10 were members of the Imperial family, 31 were hereditary members from the two upper Kazoku, nobility ranks, 104 were members elected in mutual elections from the three lower nobility ranks, 61 were lifetime-appointed members (many of these from the bureaucracy) and 45 were members elected by the 15 top taxpayers in each of the 45 prefectures. The number of noble and appointed members of the House of Peers was not fixed and varied gradually over time as members died or new peerages were granted; the number of elected top taxpayer seats, Imperial Academy seats (introduced in 1925), members appointed from the colonies Chōsen/Korea and Taiwan/Formosa (introduced in 1945), and the size of the House of Representatives was fixed by law, but was also changed several times over the decades. The last, 92nd Imperial Diet of 1946–1947 had 839 members - 466 members of the House of Representatives and 373 members of the House of Peers. As the regulations establishing the Cabinet of Japan, cabinet ''(naikaku)'' and the cabinet's prime minister ''(naikaku sōri-daijin)'' were decreed before the Imperial constitution, the prime minister did not have to be a member of the Imperial Diet, but after the establishment of the Imperial Diet in 1890, many prime ministers were appointed from the House of Peers; very few were members of the House of Representatives, ''viz.'' Hara Takashi, Takashi Hara, Osachi Hamaguchi, and Inukai Tsuyoshi, Tsuyoshi Inukai.
Lebanon
The Parliament of Lebanon is the Lebanese national legislature. It is elected to a four-year term by universal adult suffrage in multi-member constituencies, apportioned among Lebanon's diverse Christian and Muslim denominations. Its major functions are to elect the President of Lebanon, president of the republic, to approve the government (although appointed by the president, the prime minister, along with the Cabinet, must retain the confidence of a majority in the Parliament), and to approve laws and expenditure. The name of a deputy in Arabic is ''Naeb'' (نائب). The plural of ''Naeb'' is ''Nuwab'' (نواب).
Netherlands
The parliament of the Netherlands is known as the ''Staten-Generaal'', States General of the Netherlands, States General. It is bicameral, divided into two ''Kamers'' (English: chambers). The Senate (Netherlands), Senate is known in Dutch as the ''Eerste Kamer'' (First Chamber) and its members as ''senatoren'', senators. The House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of Representatives, known in Dutch as the ''Tweede Kamer'' (Second Chamber), is the most important one. The important debates take place here. Also, the Second Chamber can amend proposed laws and can propose laws itself. The Senate does not have these capabilities. Its function is a more technical reviewing of laws. It can only pass a law or reject it. Both chambers are in The Hague, which is the seat of parliament but not the official capital of the Netherlands, which is Amsterdam.
The 150 members of the House of Representatives are elected by general elections every four years (or earlier if the government falls). The 75 members of the Senate are elected indirectly. The members of the 12 provincial parliaments and the councils of the three Caribbean ''Caribbean Netherlands, special municipalities'' elect the senators. The value of a vote of a member of a provincial parliament is weighted by the population of the province. Provincial parliaments, the States-Provincial, states-provincial, are elected by general elections every four years; a new Senate is elected three months after the provincial elections.
North Macedonia
In the Republic of North Macedonia there are 120 members of parliament ( mk, Sobranie) called ''Pratenici'' (singular ''Pratenik'').
Norway
A member of parliament is an elected member of the ''Stortinget''. They are called ''stortingsrepresentanter'' (). Since 2009, Norway has had a unicameral parliament, which previously consisted of the ''Odelstinget'' and ''Lagtinget''; the Odelstinget comprised three-quarters, or 127, of the total 169 members, whereas the Lagtinget comprised the remainder. The dividing of the parliament into chambers was only used when dealing with passing regular laws and in cases of prosecution by the national court (''riksrett''). In other matters, such as passing the national budget or changing the constitution (the latter requiring a majority of two-thirds), the chambers were united.
The members of the unicameral parliament of Norway are chosen by popular vote for a parliamentary period of four years.
Philippines
From 1978 to 1984, the Philippine parliament was called the ''Batasang Pambansa'' (National Assembly), and its elected members were called ''Mambabatas Pambansa'' (National Assemblyman), often shortened to "MP".
Poland
Portugal
The Portuguese parliament is called the ''Assembleia da República''. A member of parliament is known as a ''deputado'', that is, a person who is appointed through democratic election to act on the people's behalf.
Spain
The word ''parlamento -'' of the same origin as Parliament in English - is used as a common name for all legislative assemblies, and hence ' for the member of any of them, which can usually refer to members of:
* both chambers of the national legislature (Cortes Generales), the Congress of Deputies (Spain), Congress of Deputies and the Senate of Spain, Senate.
* the regional devolved legislatures of the Autonomous Communities.
* the European Parliament.
Members of the Congress of Deputies are called ''diputados'' (deputies), implying that they are elected to act in the name and on behalf of the people they represent. It is also usual to call members of the European Parliament ''eurodiputados''. Members of the Senate are called ''senadores'' (senators).
South Africa
The Parliament of South Africa consists of two houses, the National Assembly of South Africa (lower house) and the National Council of Provinces (upper house). Members of both houses are given the title ''Member of Parliament''.
[What Parliament Does – Parliament of South Africa](_blank)
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The National Assembly is made up of 400 members, who are all elected by the public in general elections using a proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
system with closed lists. The National Council of Provinces is composed of 90 delegates with 10 delegates for each of the nine provinces regardless of the population of the province. A provincial delegation consists of six permanent delegates and four special delegates. NCOP delegates are elected by the nine provincial legislatures on the day when they reconvene, usually the same day as the National Assembly. The delegates are sworn in the next day.
South Korea
A ''member of Parliament'' refers to a member of the National Assembly (South Korea), Parliament of South Korea. A total of 253 MPs are elected using the first-past-the-post system from Electoral district, parliamentary constituencies, 30 MPs are elected by Mixed-member proportional representation, proportional compensation, and 17 MPs are elected by Parallel voting, mixed member majoritarian.
In the Second Republic of Korea or if the Constitution of South Korea is amended as a parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
with bicameralism, only the members of the House of Commons (South Korea), House of Commons of South Korea are called members of Parliament, while the members of the Senate (South Korea), Senate of South Korea are called senators.
The members of Administrative divisions of South Korea, provincial legislatures are called Member of the Legislative Assembly, members of the Legislative Assembly or MLA. In some provinces, such individuals are call councillors and members of the provincial parliament.
Sweden
''Members of parliament'' refers to the elected List of members of the Swedish Riksdag, members of the Riksdag. In Swedish, an MP is usually referred to as a ''riksdagsledamot'' (''member of the Riksdag'') or a ''riksdagsman'' (''gentleman of the Riksdag''). The former is in more common use today, especially in official contexts, due to its status as a unisex word, while the latter was used more often historically and literally refers to a male MP exclusively.
The parliament is a unicameral assembly with 349 members who are chosen every four years in Elections in Sweden, general elections. To become an MP, a person must be entitled to vote (i.e. be a Swedish Citizenship, citizen, be at least 18 years old and be or have been resident in Sweden) and must be nominated by a List of political parties in Sweden, political party. The MPs are elected by proportionality in constituencies across the nation. To decide which candidate will be elected the Sainte-Laguë method, modified Sainte-Laguë method is used. This method usually but not always gives an accurate result in proportion to cast votes. In the 2014 Swedish general election, 2014 general election the centre-right coalition government got one less MP than the overall opposition, despite more votes in total. To get a more proportional result 39 MPs are elected at compensation mandate (''Utjämningsmandat'') and those MPs, therefore, do not represent their own constituency.
The salaries of the MPs are decided by the Riksdag Pay Committee (''Riksdagens arvodesnämnd''), a Government agencies in Sweden, government agency under the Riksdag. Since 1 November 2007, the basic monthly pay of an MP is Swedish krona, SEK52,900 (ca. US$6,500). The pay of the Speaker of the parliament of Sweden, Speaker is SEK126,000 a month (ca. US$15,000), which is the same as that of the Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister. The Deputy Speakers receive an increment of 30% of the pay of a member. The chairs and deputy chairs of the parliamentary committees receive a similar increment of 20% and 15% respectively.
According to a survey investigation by the sociologist Jenny Hansson, Swedish national parliamentarians have an average workweek of 66 hours, including side responsibilities. Hansson's investigation further reports that the average Swedish national parliamentarian sleeps 6.5 hours per night.
Switzerland
Thailand
In the Thailand, Kingdom of Thailand, ''members of parliament'' ( th, สมาชิกรัฐสภา; ) refer to the members of the National Assembly of Thailand, that is, the House of Representatives (Thailand), Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate of Thailand, senators. Following the 2006 Thai coup d'état, military coup d'état on 19 September 2006, all members of the assembly were suspended from duty until the next election. The assembly was fully reconvened after the 2007 Thai general election, general elections under a slightly amended new Constitution of Thailand, constitution. Under the 2007 Constitution of Thailand, 2007 constitution there are 650 members of parliament, consisting of 500 members in the House of Representatives, of which 375 elected from constituencies and the other 125 by party-list, and 150 senators.
Turkey
In the Republic of Turkey, a member of parliament is an elected member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi, TBMM), which has 600 members elected at a general election for a term of office of five years.
Ukraine
A people's deputy of Ukraine (''Ukrainian language, Ukrainian'': народний депутат України, narodnyi deputat Ukrayiny) is a member of parliament or legislator elected by a Direct election, popular vote to the Verkhovna Rada (the unicameral parliament of Ukraine). Often people's deputies of Ukraine are referred to simply as deputies.
The main statutes that define the order of elections, rights and duties of the people's deputies of Ukraine are outlined in Articles 76–81 of the Constitution of Ukraine. There are 450 people's deputies of Ukraine who are elected based on the general, equal and direct electoral right for five years. The deputies may be appointed to various parliamentary positions such as the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, chairperson (speaker) of parliament, a head of a committee or a parliamentary faction, etc. Upon its appointment, to the office, each people's deputy of Ukraine receives a ''deputy mandate''.
People's deputies that run for parliament as self-nominated candidates can join factions if they wish.Yanukovych signs law on open voting to elect parliamentary chairman
Kyiv Post (19 November 2012)
See also
* Deputy (legislator)
* Member of Congress
* Australia and New Zealand Association of Clerks-at-the-Table, an association with the aim of advancing the professional development of parliamentarians.
References
{{Authority control
Legislators
Parliamentary titles