[NSGS] Elizia Constitutional Convention

[Skappola]

Nay

[Collatis]

Aye

[The Sarian]

Aye.

[The Nihilistic view]

"Have we got to the part about chopping people's heads off yet?"

[Vedastia]

AYE

[Skyviolia]

Aye

[Arkolon]

The motion is carried. We will now proceed to the Fourth Day of the Convention, where the Convention shall draft and submit proposals regarding devolution, federalism, constituencies, and provinces. Deliberation will last 72 hours.

[Belmaria]

Aye

OOC: Pending admin approval

[Arkolon]

Aye

OOC: Pending admin approval

There's no ongoing vote.

[Belmaria]

I propose that we become a unitary state, with no option for devolution.

[Arkolon]

I propose that we become a unitary state, with no option for devolution.

Abdul Razman reminds the delegate it would be more useful to have what he says in formal form rather than just a statement. That means writing it out with articles and clauses.

[United Provinces of Atlantica]

I propose that we become a unitary state, with no option for devolution.

"I must say that have nothing but extreme opposition to this proposal", Senator Beluluk stated. "Our nation is a diverse mix of many peoples, religions and cultures, and our nation, where no ethnic group is a majority of the populace, must be a federal republic that grants proper autonomy to all ethnic groups and sufficiently-different regions. Indeed, under the old ENC regime non-Malays were deprived of all autonomy as a reign of terror set in for these groups, resulting in for example Chinese Elizians being forced to take up arms in 2005 and fight for their freedom, and we must grant all of these groups sufficient amounts of autonomy so that they may take charge in governing their own affairs, rather than being ruled solely from Kentang."

[Belmaria]

I propose that we become a unitary state, with no option for devolution.

"I must say that have nothing but extreme opposition to this proposal", Senator Beluluk stated. "Our nation is a diverse mix of many peoples, religions and cultures, and our nation, where no ethnic group is a majority of the populace, must be a federal republic that grants proper autonomy to all ethnic groups and sufficiently-different regions. Indeed, under the old ENC regime non-Malays were deprived of all autonomy as a reign of terror set in for these groups, resulting in for example Chinese Elizians being forced to take up arms in 2005 and fight for their freedom, and we must grant all of these groups sufficient amounts of autonomy so that they may take charge in governing their own affairs, rather than being ruled solely from Kentang."

"We are a united nation, and can thrive together without the need to break up our society into small chunks. A unitary form of government allows us to do that."

[Vedastia]

"I must say that have nothing but extreme opposition to this proposal", Senator Beluluk stated. "Our nation is a diverse mix of many peoples, religions and cultures, and our nation, where no ethnic group is a majority of the populace, must be a federal republic that grants proper autonomy to all ethnic groups and sufficiently-different regions. Indeed, under the old ENC regime non-Malays were deprived of all autonomy as a reign of terror set in for these groups, resulting in for example Chinese Elizians being forced to take up arms in 2005 and fight for their freedom, and we must grant all of these groups sufficient amounts of autonomy so that they may take charge in governing their own affairs, rather than being ruled solely from Kentang."

"We are a united nation, and can thrive together without the need to break up our society into small chunks. A unitary form of government allows us to do that."

"While I support a united national culture, making Elizia a unitary state would further divide us. The citizenry of each state has different needs and policy goals, and each state has different ethnic and religious compositions. If a unitary state is implemented, different segments of society will feel disenfranchised, leading to even more conflict. Removing powerful state governments would only serve to reopen wounds in our society that desperately need to heal."

[Ainin]

CHAPTER III - ADMINISTRATION AND DIVISIONS OF THE ELIZIAN STATE

Article I - Provinces of Elizia

1. Elizia is a federation and shall thereby possess a federal government that shares power with its constituent divisions, which are endowed with certain unalienable powers. The Federation is to be composed of five provinces and an autonomous federal district.
2. The five provinces of Elizia shall be divided up as follows:
a. The northeastern islands shall be organized as the province of Jinyu,
b. The western half of Elizia's largest island shall be organized as the province of West Elizia,
c. The eastern half of Elizia's largest island shall be organized as the province of East Elizia,
d. The southeastern islands shall be organized as the province of Kelapas,
e. The southern island chain shall be organized as the province of Southern Isles.
3. The specific borders of the provinces are to be set by the Provincial Boundaries Commission.
4. Each provincial government shall have the right to set and alter the location of its administrative seat. The Federal Capital District shall not.

Article II - Provincial lawmaking powers

1. The following subjects are the exclusive lawmaking domain of the provincial governments and shall not be intruded upon by the federal government:
a. The ability to set its own budget, issue and resolve debt on its own credit, and staff and manage the provincial civil service and government,
b. The accreditation and incorporation of companies,
c. The recognition and award of deeds, wills and contracts between citizens of a province,
d. Municipal government,
e. The imposition of administrative sanctions and fines for violations of provincial statutes.
2. The following subjects are the shared lawmaking domain of the federal and provincial governments:
a. The promotion of public works and undertakings within their respective jurisdictions,
b. The regulation of internal ground and maritime transportation,
c. The preservation and conservation of cultural practices and traditions,
d. The maintenance and operation of a police force within their respective jurisdictions,
e. The imposition of taxes upon their respective citizenry,
f. The accreditation and recognition of birth, marriage, divorce and death, wherein the event of conflict, federal law will take primacy,
g. The regulation of enterprise and property,
h. Natural resources and public land,
i. Public roads and waterways, and regulation thereof.
3. The following subjects are the exclusive lawmaking domain of the federal government and shall not be intruded upon by provincial governments:
a. Criminal law,
b. Courts, penitentiaries and the judiciary,
c. Treaties, import-export tariffs, foreign relations, airspace and national defence,
d. The Constitution of Elizia, and modification and enforcement thereof,
e. Dissolution and modification of the terms of union of the Elizian state and any region thereof,
f. Labour, banking, finance, intellectual property, interest, bills of exchange and legal tender,
g. The funding and operation of the federal civil service and government,
h. Welfare, unemployment insurance and health care provisions,
i. Inter- and trans-provincial relations, transportation and commerce.
4. Any subject not covered by this Article falls under the lawmaking powers of the federal government, insofar as the powers are exercised for the purposes of maintaining peace, order and government.
5. The Supreme Court of Elizia shall have the power to nullify, abrogate or render unenforceable any statutes or portions thereof that are ultra vires the jurisdiction of the government in question.
6. A citizen of a province is concurrently a citizen of the Federation of Elizia. A citizen of any province shall enjoy all the rights and privileges that they are due anywhere in Elizia.

Article III - On provincial executives

1. The provincial government shall be lead by a Governor, who shall be responsible for the operation of the provincial agencies, services and civil service.
2. The Governor is nominated and confirmed by a simple majority of the members of the Provincial Assembly present and voting, and shall maintain their confidence. A failure to demonstrate the Assembly's confidence will compel the Governor and Cabinet to resign.
3. The Governor shall preside over a Cabinet, whose membership shall come from the Provincial Assembly. The Cabinet is responsible for implementing and enforcing government policy.
4. A bill passed by the Assembly must be signed by the Governor to become law. The Assembly may compel the Governor to sign it by a three-fifths majority vote if he has failed to do so within seven (7) days.
5. The Cabinet may pass legislation by decree, but it can be revoked at any time by a majority vote of the Provincial Assembly. The Cabinet shall not pass supply bills by decree.
6. Any bill dealing with provincial finances is a supply bill, subject to the Assembly Speaker's ruling. The failure of a supply bill is to be considered a failure to demonstrate the Assembly's confidence.
7. The Governor or federal President may at any time dissolve the Assembly and call new elections.

Article IV - On provincial legislatures

1. Each province shall possess a unicameral legislature, to be termed the Provincial Assembly.
2. The Provincial Boundaries Commission shall decide the number of seats and draw the appropriate constituencies while considering the quantity of seats and electoral system.
3. The Assembly shall be elected biennially, or when it is prematurely dissolved, using the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system.
4. The Assembly shall have the right to legislative initiative.
5. The Assembly shall elect one of its members as Speaker and set its own operating procedures and protocols, insofar as they are consistent with the letter and spirit of the Elizian Constitution.
6. The Speaker shall have the right to hold members in contempt of the Assembly and suspend them from its services for up to two (2) weeks.

Article V - Provincial Boundaries Commission

1. A Provincial Boundaries Commission, herein known as the Commission, shall exist to delimit the land and maritime boundaries of the provinces according to the guidelines in Article I.
2. Its membership shall be appointed by the President on his Cabinet's advice and shall report back with a proposal within thirty (30) days of the ratification of the Constitution, which must then be approved by the Cabinet. The Cabinet has the power to modify the proposal.
3. Upon the approval of its proposal, the Commission shall be held to be inactive.
4. The President may at any time summon the Commission to resolve territorial and jurisdictional disputes between provinces, or to settle ownership disputes in regards to public lands between the federal and provincial levels.

Article VI - Federal Capital District

1. The city of Kentang and its inner suburbs, whose exact borders shall be delimited by the Commission, shall be organized as the Federal Capital District, herein known as the District, which shall be a province-level administrative division. The District shall not be, in part or in full, a component of any other province.
2. The District shall be administered by the Government of the Federal Capital District, to be composed of:
a. The Governor of Kentang, herein referred to as the Governor, appointed by a simple majority of the Council,
b. The Kentang Metropolitan Council, herein referred to as the Council, composed of sixteen (16) councillors.
3. The Council shall be selected in biennial elections, wherein the entire District shall be one constituency and councillors shall be selected using the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system.
4. The Council shall have the right to legislative initiative. The Governor shall have the exclusive right to sign Council legislation into law, and possesses a line-item veto that may be overriden by a three-fifths majority of the Council.
5. The Council shall elect one of its members as Speaker and set its own operating procedures and protocols, insofar as they are consistent with the letter and spirit of the Elizian Constitution.
6. The President and Cabinet of Elizia may suspend the District government and exercise direct rule in the event of war, armed attack, disaster or other emergency of imminent and present danger to public health, safety or order.
7. The District government shall have all the powers enumerated in Article II, save for the ability to maintain its own police force. However, the federal Parliament may intrude upon the exclusive domain of the District government in the interest of peace, order and good government.

Article VII - Municipalities

1. Provinces shall further be subdivided into municipalities. The Federal Capital District shall not.
2. Provincial governments shall have the power to incorporate and unincorporate settlements as municipalities, and to draw and alter their borders. A municipality with a population superior to 2,000 shall be known as a City. A municipality with a population inferior to 2,000 shall be known as a Village.
3. Municipalities shall be funded by horizontal equalization from the provincial government.
4. Any area not incorporated as a municipality shall be under the direct control of the provincial government.
5. A village is governed by a prefect, to be elected biennially by a plurality vote of the general population. The mayor possesses legislative initiative, and the collective residents of the village shall serve as legislature.
6. A city is governed by a mayor and city council, to be elected biennially by an electoral system of the provincial government's choosing. City council possesses legislative initiative, while the mayor is responsible for the administration of municipal government.
7. Municipal government shall have the non-exclusive powers of zoning, promoting public works and undertakings, maintaining municipal infrastructure, regulating local waterways and roads, instituting height, design and stylistic regulations for fixed structures, and enforcing municipal bylaws through administrative sanctions and fines.

Article VIII - Indigenous communities

1. The Home Secretary, or equivalent, shall have the authority to create, promote, demote and dissolve municipalities with the status of "indigenous communities." Unlike normal municipalities, such government bodies cannot be dissolved or altered by the provincial government.
2. Such communities shall have the right to adopt a traditional government structure notwithstanding the limitations of Article VII, subject to the approval of the Home Secretary, or equivalent. However, such a government shall have a clearly-designated executive branch and a legislative branch in which all residents of age are able to participate or bear representation.
3. Within the jurisdiction of a municipality designated as an indigenous community, the federal and provincial governments shall not have the power to expropriate private residents of their land without the voluntary consent of the municipal legislative body.
4. The indigenous municipal executive shall have the right to impose binding arbitration between residents of the municipality on subjects related to property or contractual disputes with a monetary value inferior to US$500. Any arbitration by the executive is final and no leave for appeal will be granted. Either concerned party may however decline municipal arbitration prior to the start of proceedings and instead bring the case to a federal court.
5. The Elizian Parliament may, by way of an explicit statutory declaration, nullify the applicability of a provincial law in indigenous communities if it deems the law harmful to the communities' culture, heritage or preservation.

[Belmaria]

The federal council should be elected via STV, not MMP. MMP encourages voters to vote for large parties in the FPTP elections, which defeats the purpose of having a local representative. STV is proportional, and allows for constituencies to have multiple representatives so as to include local representation for more groups of people.

[Nariterrr]

The federal council should be elected via STV, not MMP. MMP encourages voters to vote for large parties in the FPTP elections, which defeats the purpose of having a local representative. STV is proportional, and allows for constituencies to have multiple representatives so as to include local representation for more groups of people.

"I agree with my colleague here, STV is the best for equal representation, not MMP. We are after all a diverse nation.

[Ainin]

"The appropriate modifications will be made."

(But not now, on mobile rn)

[Normandy and Picardy]

I imagine that Biannual elections would not be practical, not least because of the administrative costs, unless of course the senator meant biennial. It would be better if elections to the municipalites were biennial, and for the provinces perhaps quadrennial. Also, I concur with my fellow members and believe that we should use STV, in all tiers of government. Finally, 2000 people seems a bit small for a city, no?

[Ainin]

Did I actually write biannual... It's 3am and I wasn't paying attention. It is indeed biennial.

And the city/village distinction is only to determine the type of municipal government it will have. It's not a dictionary definition.

[United Provinces of Atlantica]

"The proposed Chapter III is an excellent proposal, granting provinces a sufficient and healthy amount of autonomy whilst at the same time allowing the central government to pass crucial legislation, all the meanwhile ensuring proper and necessary governance even at the local level; I would in particular commend in the highest possible terms the village provisions of Article VIII, which strongly respects deliberation of issues in villages under the guidance and wisdom of village elders. I would, however, suggest that a provision is added to specifically delineate and grant powers of cultural preservation to rural indigenous areas, as specified in Article XX of the proposed Declaration of the Rights of Elizian Citizens, Residents and Non-Resident Aliens, provisions that could help clear out any potential irregularities in this Constitution."

[House of Judah]

"While this is well written, I find it to be premature. First it should be decided whether we are to take a federative or unitary model. I move that a vote in division be held with the question:"

What form of republic shall Elizia have?
[ ] Federal Republic
[ ] Unitary Republic with Devolved Governments
[ ] Unitary Republic

[Arkolon]

Iskba, a delegate, asks whether this question will not already be asked on Day 10, when delegates choose between the text that forms a federal republic, a unitary republic with devolved governments, or a unitary republic?

[House of Judah]

"Indeed it may, but we are now discussing the forming of sub-national organizational units. Surely before we can decide the powers to be given to such a unit, we should make a decision as to whether the central government will delegate power to the lower unit or if the lower unit should have powers in and of themselves, regardless of the central government."

[Vedastia]

"Since Elizia at the federal level is a republic, will subnational entities also be required to adopt republican governments?"