[DRAFT] Independent Candidate Rights

[Whovian Tardisia]

OOC: perhaps you should pull the fire alarm more often.

OOC: If he does, Harold's getting defenestrated.

[Attempted Socialism]

Acting Ambassador Marcie Elizabeth 'MacBeth' Illum rises to address the Assembly for her first time.
"Dear friends and comrades, dear brothers and sisters. Some Ambassadors have opposed this legislation because it might be a hinderance to party-list proportional election systems. In our experience, it is not. Several proportional systems, such as the commonly used highest average methods known as Sainte-Laguë and D'Hondt, or the commonly used largest remainder known as Hare and Droop, will work identical with or without this proposal. All four party list systems will currently give seats to lists in their respective proportion to votes, and if a list runs out of candidates but still has seats left, those seats will be passed on to the other lists in that election. If an individual desires to run, they can do so like any other list, under all four proportional party list systems. A group of party-unaffiliated candidates can also form their own list, without forming a party. While a single-person list may be technically silly in a proportional system, effectively denying your voters the advantages of proportionality, there's nothing inherent in the system that would make it impossible."
"Other systems, like Mixed Member Proportional or Single Transferable Vote, would also deny the voters any additional benefit from the electoral system, but would work identical if single candidate lists without a party structure were to run. Non-proportional, and party agnostic, systems like First Past The Post or Alternative Vote would also work unchanged."
"Quite frankly, we don't see a particular need for this legislation in terms of electoral system. If countries only allow parties to run, that's a law working independently, err, sorry, no pun intended, of the electoral system. Most such rules are, in our experience, also party-agnostic, though. For instance, a country might require an organisation to clear some threshold, such as collecting signatures before being allowed on the list, but as long as those rules are the same for parties and non-parties, irregardless that in realistic terms such a system may require a semi-large organisation to carry out, then this law wouldn't necessitate any change, as we read it."
"However, if some countries do require parties in order for candidates to run at all, and not just to carry the organisational load that comes with any election, that is unhealthy, democratically speaking. Even if, realistically speaking, an independent candidate may have worse chances than an otherwise equally skilled and opinionated candidate with the organisational know-how, funding, name recognition and more, there shouldn't be any legal barriers preventing the former from running."
"All in all, we aren't aware of any pressing need for this legislation, but with some positive elements and no apparent downsides, we would tentatively vote for if placed on the floor. Thank you for listening, may International Solidarity unite the human race. I yield the rest of my time."

[Bakhton]

"Our nation reaffirms our approval of ICR, Freedom of Religion, and Banishment Ban, if you get these off the ground we will heartily support them. Meanwhile, regarding ICR, I still believe improving the preamble would help greatly to rationalize its legislative purpose."