Impeachment in Dryicor

Impeachment in Dryicor is a method of removing an elected official, such as the Prime Minister or a Cabinet member, after they have committed a crime or misdemeanour.

It is used very rarely in Dryicor, unlike in countries perhaps such as the United States, and has not been used in the post-Constitution era, with ministers expected to resign instead. The last time it was used successfully was in 1876, to remove a Transport Minister accused of financial impropriety.

To impeach a Representative
This requires approval from the Parliamentary Standards Authority that they have committed such a crime that it can merit impeachment. An ordinary Representative is taken to a trial in the Parlamentti, which, after a few days of cross-examination, will be voted on. This requires three rounds of voting: if all three result in a vote to impeach, the Representative will be asked to leave the Parliament and vacate their seat, which will result in a by-election. Unlike in other countries, an impeachment only requires a simple majority, and not a two-thirds vote or similar. The Constitution guarantees all members a free vote in this case.

Since 2006, the Parlamentti has instead been allowed to vote to instigate a recall petition, after which, if 10% of voters in their electoral district, divided by the number of members there are, sign a petition to do so, a by-election is held in which the Representative in question is free to stand. The election goes ahead unless Parliament votes to impeach instead. If the member has a proportional seat, the petition is open to the whole country, and 5% of voters nationally must sign the petition.

To impeach a Minister
This requires approval from the Parliamentary Standards Authority that they have committed such a crime that it can merit impeachment. The Minister in question is taken to a trial in the Parlamentti, which, after a few days of cross-examination, will be voted on. This requires three rounds of voting: if all three result in a vote to impeach, the Representative will be forced to resign their post.

If the Parliamentary Standards Authority suggest this, they may also be stripped of their seat in Parliament, in which case the usual Representative impeachment procedure is followed.

To impeach the Prime Minister
Usually a Prime Minister's government will be brought down by a no-confidence vote if the Prime Minister has committed impeachment-worthy crimes, however tactically the opposition party may vote to impeach the Prime Minister and not their government, if it cannot guarantee it will have the numbers for a no-confidence vote. Unusually for an impeachment vote, it requires only two rounds of voting in Parliament, and the third is a national "yes/no" referendum on their guilt. The Constitution guarantees all members a free vote, and if this is broken the Prime Minister would be expected to resign. If they lose the referendum, the Prime Minister must resign within three days, and also loses their seat automatically, forcing a by-election.

As established in 1959, a Prime Minister can be impeached for crimes they committed in an earlier position.

This has never happened before in Dryicor: the closest was in 1959, where the SPD tactically avoided an impeachment referendum at the last minute, by using their effective control of Parliament to force the government to call a general election instead.