Imperial Senate

"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy..."  Unknown monk after visiting the Imperial Senate  

The core provinces of the Imperium are living in peace and relative prosperity, their day-to-day life governed by the Imperial Senate. Senators for each estate (nobility, clergy, burghers) are elected by their fellows in each province but behind-the-door deals ensure that it is almost always the most powerful and influential that get elected.

The Senate is infamous for the vicious infighting among senators: every year at least one or two senators are executed for treason, in many cases the evidence is clearly fabricated. Combined with the rigged elections this has made the Senate one of the most despised imperial institution (right after the Crimson Tide, although many agree that is a necessity).