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In this era, sixty years before the start of the Clone Wars, The Senate has yet to reach the presidential, congress style of government of the Valorum/Palpatine era. The Republic political machine is composed of two main political parties: the right-wing Commonwealth of Free Worlds (CFW) and the socialist Pandemo party, led by Barnes Pikle. Every five standard years there is a General Election, where each star system, or group of systems, elect their senator. The party with largest number of senators then forms the government, with the party leader as Supreme Chancellor. The Chancellor chooses a "cabinet" of own-party senators to act as Government Ministers. The Supreme Chancellor and the Cabinet continue to act as senators during office. Rank-and-file senators are called backbenchers, a term dating from the time of the original Senate Hall, where the delegates were seated upon long benches running the length of the Chamber.
At the time of Volume I, CFW had won the last General Election with a landslide majority, securing Chancellor Levette Rhoufheigh a third term in office. There are very few Pandemo members left, having been confined to the very safest Senate seats, such as Sorensia, Eriadu and Dowbekin. The Core Worlds are staunch Rhoufheigh supporters whilst the Pandemos are traditionally allied to the industrial worlds farther out.
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