Role of the House of Peoples

In practice however, the Council of Ministers should have the support of the majority of both Houses. Taking into account the powers of the House of Peoples and in particular the fact that under Article IV.4 of the Constitution, this House shares with the House of Representatives, on an equal footing, the powers to enact legislation, to decide on the source and amount of revenues, to adopt the budget or to consent to the ratification of treaties, it is advisable that the Council of Ministers can count on the support of a majority in this House. To our knowledge, all Councils of Ministers have been able to rely on the support of a majority in both Houses. Short of such support, one can imagine the difficulties that a ruling coalition would face in implementing its program of work. Also, it is worth mentioning that, under Article V.4(a) and (c) of the Constitution, the Council of Ministers report to the Parliamentary Assembly as a whole, and that it belongs to the Parliamentary Assembly as a whole to adopt a vote of no confidence in the Council of Ministers.