Unicameralism
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In government, unicameralism (Latin uni, one + camera, chamber) is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house.
Contents
1 Concept
2 List of unicameral legislatures
2.1 National
2.2 Territorial
2.3 Subnational
2.3.1 Federations
2.3.2 Devolved governments
2.3.3 Other
3 List of historical Unicameral legislatures
3.1 National
3.2 Subnational
4 Unicameralism in the United States
5 Unicameralism in the Philippines
6 References
Concept
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multicameralism. Many multicameral legislatures were created to give separate voices to different sectors of society. Multiple chambers allowed for guaranteed representation of different social classes (as in the Parliament of the United Kingdom or the French States-General), ethnic or regional interests, or subunits of a federation. Where these factors are unimportant, in unitary states with limited regional autonomy, unicameralism often prevails. Sometimes, as in New Zealand and Denmark, this comes about through the abolition of one of the two chambers, or, as in Sweden, through the merger of the two chambers into a single one, while in others a second chamber has never existed.
Unicameral legislatures are also common in official Communist states such as the People's Republic of China and Cuba. Similarly, many formerly Communist states, such as Ukraine, Moldova and Serbia, have retained their unicameral legislatures, though others, such as Romania and Poland, adopted bicameral legislatures. Both the former Russian SFSR and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) were bicameral. The two chambers were the Soviet of Nationalities and the Soviet of the Union. The Russian Federation retained bicameralism after the dissolution of the USSR and the transition from existing socialism to capitalism.[1]
The principal advantage of a unicameral system is more efficient lawmaking, as the legislative process is much simpler and there is no possibility of deadlock. Proponents of unicameralism have also argued that it reduces costs, even if the number of legislators stay the same, since there are fewer institutions to maintain and support it.
The main weakness of a unicameral system can be seen as the lack of restraint on the majority, particularly noticeable in parliamentary systems where the leaders of the parliamentary majority also dominate the executive. There is also the risk that important sectors of society may not be adequately represented.
List of unicameral legislatures
Nations with a bicameral legislature.
Nations with a unicameral legislature.
Nations with a unicameral legislature and an advisory body.
Nations with no legislature.
Approximately half of the world's sovereign states are currently unicameral, including both the most populous (the People's Republic of China) and the least populous (the Vatican City).
Many subnational entities have unicameral legislatures. These include the state of Nebraska and territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands in the United States, the Chinese Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, the Australian state of Queensland as well as the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, a majority of the provinces of Argentina, all of the provinces and territories in Canada, all of the German Bundesländer, all of the Regions of Italy, all of the Spanish Autonomous Communities, both the Autonomous Regions of Portugal, most of the States of India and all of the States of Brazil.
In the United Kingdom, the devolved Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, London Assembly, and Northern Ireland Assembly are also unicameral.
National
National Assembly of
Angola
National Assembly of
Armenia
National Assembly of
Azerbaijan
Jatiyo Sangshad of
Bangladesh
National Assembly of
Benin
National Assembly of
Botswana
Legislative Council of
Brunei
National Assembly of
Bulgaria
National Assembly of
Burkina Faso
National Assembly of
Cape Verde
National Assembly of the
Central African Republic
National Assembly of
Chad
National People's Congress of
People's Republic of China
Assembly of the Union of the
Comoros
Parliament of the
Cook Islands
Legislative Assembly of
Costa Rica
Sabor of
Croatia
National Assembly of People's Power of
Cuba
Folketing of
Denmark
House of Assembly of
Dominica
National Assembly of
Djibouti
National Parliament of
East Timor
National Assembly of
Ecuador
House of Representatives of
Egypt
Legislative Assembly of
El Salvador
National Assembly of
Eritrea
Riigikogu of
Estonia
Parliament of
Fiji
Parliament of
Finland
National Assembly of the
Gambia
Parliament of
Georgia
Parliament of
Ghana
Parliament of
Greece
Congress of
Guatemala
National Assembly of
Guinea
National People's Assembly of
Guinea-Bissau
National Assembly of
Guyana
National Congress of
Honduras
National Assembly of
Hungary
Althing of
Iceland
Islamic Consultative Assembly of
Iran
Council of Representatives of
Iraq (provision exists for the founding of a "Council of Union", but no move to this effect has been initiated by the existing Council)
Knesset of
Israel
House of Assembly of
Kiribati
Assembly of
Kosovo
Supreme Council of
Kyrgyzstan
National Assembly of
Kuwait
National Assembly of
Laos
Saeima of
Latvia
Parliament of
Lebanon
House of Representatives of
Libya
Landtag of
Liechtenstein
Seimas of
Lithuania
Chamber of Deputies of
Luxembourg
Parliament of the
Macedonia
National Assembly of
Malawi
Majlis of the
Maldives
National Assembly of
Mali
Parliament of
Malta
Legislature of the
Marshall Islands
Parliament of
Mauritania
National Assembly of
Mauritius
Congress of
Micronesia
Parliament of
Moldova
National Council of
Monaco
State Great Khural of
Mongolia
Parliament of
Montenegro
Assembly of the Republic of
Mozambique
Parliament of
Nauru
Parliament of
New Zealand
National Assembly of
Nicaragua
National Assembly of
Niger
Assembly of
Niue
Supreme People's Assembly of
North Korea
Storting of
Norway
National Assembly of
Panama
National Parliament of
Papua New Guinea
Congress of the Republic of
Peru
Assembly of the Republic of
Portugal
National Assembly of
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Legislative Assembly of
Samoa
National Assembly of
São Tomé and Príncipe
National Assembly of
Senegal
National Assembly of
Serbia
National Assembly of
Seychelles
Parliament of
Sierra Leone
Parliament of
Singapore
National Council of
Slovakia
National Assembly of
South Korea
Parliament of
Sri Lanka
National Assembly of
Suriname
Riksdag of
Sweden
Parliament of
Syria
Legislative Yuan of the
Republic of China (Taiwan)
National Assembly of
Tanzania
National Assembly of
Togo
Legislative Assembly of
Tonga
National Assembly of
Tunisia
Grand National Assembly of
Turkey
Assembly of
Turkmenistan
Parliament of
Tuvalu
Parliament of
Uganda
Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine
Pontifical Commission for
Vatican City State
National Assembly of
Venezuela
National Assembly of
Vietnam
Assembly of Representatives of
Yemen
National Assembly of
Zambia
Territorial
House of Assembly of the
British Virgin Islands
Legislative Assembly of the
Cayman Islands
Parliament of
Greenland
- The Løgting of the
Faroe Islands
Parliament of
Gibraltar
Legislature of
Guam
Legislative Council of
Hong Kong
Legislative Assembly of
Macau
Legislative Assembly of the
Falkland Islands
Legislature of the
U.S. Virgin Islands
Subnational
Federations
- All legislatures and legislative councils of the regions and communities of
Belgium
- All legislative assemblies of the provinces and territories of
Canada
- All Landtage of the states of
Germany
- All legislative assemblies of the states of
Malaysia
- The legislature of the state of
Nebraska, and council of the 
District of Columbia in the United States
Parliament of
Queensland and the legislative assemblies of the territories of 
Australia (but not the other states)
Provincial legislatures of the Provinces of
South Africa
Narodna skupština of
Republika Srpska
- All legislative assemblies in all states of
Brazil
- All legislatures in all states of
Mexico
- 15 of the Provinces of
Argentina – 
Chaco, 
Chubut, 
Córdoba, 
Formosa, 
Jujuy, 
La Pampa, 
La Rioja (Argentina), 
Misiones, 
Neuquén, 
Río Negro (Argentina), 
San Juan, 
Santa Cruz, 
Santiago del Estero, 
Tierra del Fuego, 
Tucumán and the autonomous city of 
Buenos Aires.
22 states of
India – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal
2 union territories – Delhi and Puducherry
- All legislatures of the Provinces in
Pakistan – 
Azad Kashmir, 
Balochistan, 
Gilgit Baltistan 
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 
Punjab and 
Sindh
Devolved governments
Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament
Northern Ireland Assembly
Scottish Parliament
National Assembly for
Wales
- Parliaments of the autonomous communities of
Spain
Other
Local People's Congresses of all levels of provinces, regions and municipalities of the People's Republic of China
List of historical Unicameral legislatures
National
- The First Protectorate Parliament and Second Protectorate Parliament of the Kingdom of England, regulated by the Instrument of Government (dissolved)
Parliament of the Kingdom of Scotland until 1707 (dissolved)
Congress of the Confederation was unicameral before being replaced in 1789 by the current, bicameral United States Congress.
Congress of Deputies of Second Spanish Republic was unicameral between 1931 and 1936. Dissolved at the end of Spanish Civil War; the present Spanish Parliament (established in 1978) is bicameral.
Supreme Assembly of Uzbekistan was unicameral before being replaced in 2005 by the current, bicameral Supreme Assembly.
National Assembly of Cameroon was unicameral before being replaced in 2013 by the current, bicameral Parliament of Cameroon.
Chamber of People's Representative of Equatorial Guinea was unicameral before being replaced in 2013 by the current, bicameral Parliament of Equatorial Guinea.
National Assembly of Kenya was the country's unicameral legislature before becoming the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Kenya in 2013.
National Assembly of Ivory Coast was the country's unicameral legislature before becoming the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Ivory Coast in 2016.
Subnational
General Assembly of Georgia until 1789
General Assembly of Pennsylvania until 1790
General Assembly of Vermont until 1836
Unicameralism in the United States
Within U.S. states, Nebraska is currently the only state with a unicameral legislature; after a statewide vote, it changed from bicameral to unicameral in 1937.[2][3] A 2018 study found that efforts to adopt unicameralism in Ohio and Missouri failed due to rural opposition.[3] There was a fear in rural communities that unicameralism would diminish their influence in state government.[3]
Local government legislatures of counties, cities, or other political subdivisions within states are usually unicameral and have limited lawmaking powers compared to their state and federal counterparts.
In 1999, Governor Jesse Ventura proposed converting the Minnesota Legislature into a single unicameral chamber.[4] Although debated, the idea was never adopted.
In a non-binding referendum held on July 10, 2004, voters in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico approved changing its Legislative Assembly to a unicameral body by 456,267 votes in favor (83.7%) versus 88,720 against (16.3%). If both the territory's House of Representatives and Senate had approved by a 2⁄3 vote the specific amendments to the Puerto Rico Constitution that are required for the change to a unicameral legislature, another referendum would have been held in the territory to approve such amendments. If those constitutional changes had been approved, Puerto Rico could have switched to a unicameral legislature as early as 2015.
On June 9, 2009, the Maine House of Representatives voted to form a unicameral legislature, but the measure did not pass the Senate.[5]
Because of legislative gridlock in 2009, former Congressman Rick Lazio, a prospective candidate for governor, has proposed that New York adopt unicameralism.[6]
The United States as a whole was subject to a unicameral Congress during the years 1781–1788, when the Articles of Confederation were in effect.
Unicameralism in the Philippines
Though the current Congress of the Philippines is bicameral, the country experienced unicameralism in 1898 and 1899 during the First Philippine Republic, from 1935 to 1941 during the Commonwealth Era and from 1943 to 1944 during the Japanese occupation. Under the 1973 Constitution, the legislative body was called Batasang Pambansa, which functioned also a unicameral legislature within a semi-presidential system form of government until 1986.
The ongoing process of amending or revising the current Constitution and form of government is popularly known as Charter Change. A shift to a unicameral parliament was included in the proposals of the constitutional commission created by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.[7] Unlike in the United States, senators in the Senate of the Philippines are elected not per district and state but nationally; the Philippines is a unitary state.[8] The Philippine government's decision-making process, relative to the United States, is more rigid, highly centralised, much slower and susceptible to political gridlock. As a result, the trend for unicameralism as well as other political system reforms are more contentious in the Philippines.[9]
While Congress is bicameral, all local legislatures are unicameral: the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Boards), Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Councils), Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Councils), Sangguniang Barangay (Barangay Councils) and the Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Councils).
References
^ Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, Wikipedia and Supreme Soviet of Russia, Wikipedia
^ "History of the Nebraska Unicameral". nebraskalegislature.gov. Retrieved 2015-04-17..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ abc Myers, Adam S. (2018). "The Failed Diffusion of the Unicameral State Legislature, 1934–1944". Studies in American Political Development. 32 (2): 217–235. doi:10.1017/S0898588X18000135. ISSN 0898-588X.
^ "One People – One House". News.minnesota.publicradio.org. 1999-04-29. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
^ "RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine To Establish a Unicameral Legislature" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-11-26.
^ One for All, Rick Lazio, New York Times, July 14, 2009
^ "Constitutional Commission proposals". Concom.ph. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
^ Softrigger Interactive (2008-02-25). "Philippines : Gov.Ph : About the Philippines". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on February 25, 2008. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
^ "citation was not true it needs more references?". Concom.ph. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
