The Detapa Council is the civilian lawmaking body of the government. It is composed of 11 members. (DS9 episodes: "Defiant", "The Way of the Warrior")

These members are elected by the people in their respective districts. As individuals, Detapa members are well-known and powerful people not only among the locals they represent but also with the citizens at large.

The Council is presided over by a Prefect elected by and from the members of the Council. (DS9: "Cardassians", "Defiant", "Return to Grace")

Some council members may have the rank of Legate, which is equivalent to a Starfleet Admiral. Legates, though retired from military service, command Jaguls who in turn command military Orders. Thus the military has considerable influence over lawmaking, appropriations, and decisions affecting the Cardassian Union. "You can take the soldier out of the military, but you can’t take the military out of a career soldier."

Although Council elections are conducted by popular vote, the voting is heavily influenced by the candidates' vesala, his network of influential people. In the past, Central Command (working through the Council) nominated candidates, which the people then voted on. So long as Central Command controlled nominations, they were ensured of Council members who would maintain the status quo.

Cardassian politics, like most of Cardassian society, runs on favors. It’s who one knows and what favors influential people would do for the candidate that made him popular with the people in his district. Of course the candidate is also supposed to grant favors to his voting public, such as sponsoring a child’s education, securing a job for a person, putting pressure on another’s superiors for a rise in status or a better posting. All this and more constituted vesala.

The justice system is based on the verdict of guilty. Authorities establish evidence against the criminal before an arrest is made. Upon arrest, the prisoner is assigned a counselor, who tries to reason with the accused to confess. Some prisoners are interrogated until a confession is exacted from an unwilling criminal.

Trials are held in public and broadcast to the populace. What passes for a trial is a statement of charges from the Archon (judge), a statement of remorse for one’s crimes from the prisoner or his counselor and then an execution, which may or may not be public and may or may not be swift depending on the cooperation of the accused.

Central Prison is a detainment facility on Cardassia Prime. In 2370, Miles O'Brien was taken there after having been arrested by Gul Evek on a charge of giving weapons to the Maquis. (DS9: "Tribunal") Due to the nature of the judicial system, it may be assumed that prisons were temporary holding facilities until the justice system was done interrogating the subject or using the accused as a political pawn. Only accused with very powerful vesalas ever escaped the justice system.

Surviving Bajoran orbs, retrieved by the Obsidian order, were being studied by the Ministry during the Occupation of Bajor. Miras borrowed the Orb of Prophecy from the Obsidian Order archives and received a vision of her place in the Oralian Way: as a conduit through which Oralius could be manifest to her followers. ( the Terok Nor trilogy)

Personnel serving the Ministry on Bajor during the Occupation were:

Miras Vara
Kalisi Reyar
Ulani Belor
Gilora Rejal
Kotan Pa'Dar
Crell Moset

The Loyalty Investigation Board was a Cardassian organization in operation in 2370. (DS9 novel: Betrayal)

Cardassian Central Archives

The Cardassian Central Archives stored historical information on the Cardassian Union.

The Cardassian Communications Service (also known as the Cardassian Information Service) is an agency that controls and operates major communication systems in the Cardassian Union. Natima Lang worked for the service while she was living on Terok Nor in 2363. (DS9: "Profit and Loss")

The Detapa Council is the civilian governing body of the Cardassian Union. The Council was formed in 1872 (Earth calendar), and was by law in control of the Central Command and the Obsidian Order.

Although the Detapa Council originally held power of the government, once Cardassia developed space flight and the military discovered other planets rich in the natural resources Cardassia so desperately needed, the Council found itself gradually loosing power to the military as it demanded more resources to build more ships, train more soldiers and send more Cardassians into space.

The Obsidian Order worked with the military to gather intelligence on these new worlds, and helped "convince" the governments of those worlds to ally with Cardassia. This strengthened the political position of the military, and the Central Command came the major power in the Union.

Eventually the Detapa Council was reduced to passing laws and making appropriations at the whim of both the Central Command and the Obsidian order.

Following the fall of the Obsidian Order in 2372, the Council, along with the Cardassian dissident movement, overthrew the Central Command, and established control over the government. Gul Dukat served as chief military advisor to the Council following the revolution.

The Klingon Empire believed the coup to have been engineered by the Dominion, and used it as a reason to invade the Union in the Klingon-Cardassian War. During the initial invasion, the Council was evacuated from Cardassia Prime aboard the Cardassian warship Prakesh, and given temporary shelter aboard the Federation space station Deep Space 9. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

Dukat talked to the Detapa Council later that year, after having captured a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. Although the council members were impressed by his accomplishment and offered him his old post, they also told him they would not use the data obtained to launch an offensive against the Klingons. (DS9: "Return to Grace")

Dukat used that power to negotiate an alliance with the Dominion. The influence of the Council waned again as Dukat became supreme ruler of Cardassia in the Dominion's name. When Dukat went mad and disappeared from public view his aide, Gul Damar, assumed his position. Damar turned against the Dominion and was killed fighting to overthrow them.

After the Dominion War was over, a new Detapa Council was formed from the surviving members, plus capable Cardassian citizens. Some retired Cardassian legates returned to the homeworld to offer their wisdom and assistance in the rebuilding process. The Council now seeks to build a newer, stronger Cardassia and to put aside the mistakes of the past.

Legate Damar would have been assured the position of Prefect, despite his military background, had he survived the rebellion against the Dominion. The Council's Prefect is now Legate Turrell, an elder statesman with strong civilian support.

In spite of the emergence of underground movements, Cardassians still are hierarchical in nature, and will most likely return to a more centralized government as they struggle to bring order the chaos of their world.

The Cardassian concept of vesala extends to the local government as well. Local government authorities, such as planetary and colonial governors, are also known as prefects. A prefect is supported by an extensive bureaucracy that handles the day-to-day matters of governing, including representatives from the major ministries of the Cardassian government.

The majority of prefects in the Cardassian Union were also military officers, so they had the authority of Central Command backing up their appointments.

As Prefect of Bajor, Skrain Dukat was criticized for being too lenient on the "ungrateful" Bajorans, but his considerable vesala gave him the power to call the shots as he saw fit and to remain in his position. He also commanded the Exarches of Bajoran settlements and the overseers of the Bajoran labor camps, though there was no love between himself and them. Exarch Kotan Pa’dar was a personal and political enemy of Dukat, strongly opposing Dukat’s handling of Bajor. (Terok Nor trilogy)

Cardassian settlements on Bajor were governed by civilian exarches. (Terok Nor trilogy). The term probably also refers to any village or city governor in charge of a settlement of Cardassians, whereas military officers took charge of alien encampments, work forces, or colonies. The Tozhat Resettlement Center on Bajor was headed by Kotan Pa’Dar. The settlement housed orphans of Bajoran, Cardassian, and mixed heritage.

Mentioned in passing in :A Stitch in Time," and in the Terok Nor trilogy, the Civilian Assembly seems to have been around even during the height of power of Central Command. One may assume that local citizens assembled to discuss issues of importance to the populace in the cities and to let their representative in the Detapa Council know their opinions. After the Cardassians chose Democracy over the old system, it was the open and free expression of everyone’s opinion, that made Garak ask Bashir how anything got done in a Democracy.

Within the military itself, there was dissent about the continued mining of Bajor as mineral deposits were depleted, the workers sickened and died, and production began to fall below quotas. Economically, Bajor was sucking up maintenance and medical resources that could be used at home.

Among these dissenters within the military ranks was Dalin Gaten Russol, who led a group opposed to the occupation of other worlds. They also opposed the wasteful trade agreements that were not economically wise in the long run for Cardassia.

In spite of the opposition, Dukat saw much untapped potential for not only mining, but food production. He felt that Central Command was ignoring the long-term benefits of occupation, instead going for a quick retrieval of minerals, then moving on to the next planet. He dreamed that Bajor would supply Cardassian’s needs for generations.

Legate Corat Damar, once a loyal follower of Dukat, led the rebellion against the Dominion, taking like-minded soldiers from the Second and Ninth Orders with him. He had always been a traditionalist, and abhorred the control the Dominion had over Cardassia. He became a martyr for the cause when the Dominion executed him.

With the Cardassian Obsidian Order no longer existing to keep the population in line, a fanatical separatist group known as the "True Way" began to unleash their frustration on the Federation and Bajor through terrorism and sabotage in 2372. Blaming the Federation for Cardassia's economic and political problems, and strongly opposed to the Bajoran-Cardassian Treaty made the year prior, the True Way was responsible for destroying the runabout USS Orinoco as well as a failed attempt at the life of Shakaar Edon. (DS9: "Our Man Bashir", "Crossfire")

Another dissenter was Glinn Sa’krat, a secret member of the Oralian Way. As brutally as the members of the Way were exterminated during the takeover of Bajor, the surviving members had to meet in secret places: basements, underground grottoes, and caves, moving when the detection grid and foot patrols found them out. (Terok Nor trilogy)

The Oralian Way, however, managed to survive and came out into the open during the reconstruction of Cardassia. The Way re-opened a long-forgotten path of spiritual understanding and healing for the beleaguered Cardassians. (A Stitch in Time)

When the Central Command was in power, some citizens formed an underground movement with the express goal of turning the Cardassian Union into a non-militaristic democracy. Known as the Reunion Project, the movement's members included not only civilians (such as well-known leaders Rekelen, Hogue, and Natima Lang) but also some legates and members of the Detapa Council. One such member, Legate Ghemor, was uncovered by the Obsidian Order in 2371 and forced to flee Cardassia. He has since returned to lend his efforts to the reconstruction. Other well-known proponents of the Reunion Project were Dr. Parmak, Pythas Lok, Elim Garak, and some members of the Obsidian Order.

Some Federation observers argue in favor of supporting the movement; others believe it must succeed on its own if it is to have any lasting effect on Cardassian culture.

The Directorate, led by Gul Madred, Procal Dukat and several powerful military leaders, had a strong following among the military. Their movement wanted to break all ties to the Federation and to enlist the Romulans against the Klingons and then the Federation. They felt the only way to rebuild was through military might. Their political goal was to take back power from the Detapa Council and the Civilian Assembly.

They set up a "Restoration Cadre" in every sector and tried to intimidate the citizens into voting for their candidates. They pressed for their candidates to be elected to the Detapa Council and thus secure military power over the civilian population.

Well-known members of the Directorate were Procal Dukat, Gul Hadar, Gul Evek, Legate Parn and Gul Malyn Ocett. These military leaders had fought the Dominion to throw off their yoke but felt the Federation was out to absorb them into their hegemony and therefore lose their own identity as Cardassians.

The elite military men in the Directorate referred to themselves as the "Brotherhood" and were the top organizers and decision makers of the organization.

When faced with the choice of violence and peace among themselves, the Cardassian people voted for peace and the Reunion Project. They were tired of war and their homeworld was badly decimated by the final punitive actions of the Dominion. They rejected the very attitudes that had gotten them to this desperate state.

But Elim Garak thinks there is too much endless discussing of things and not near enough action, One of the drawbacks of Democracy!