The Gandoor Times - Gandoor's Premier Newspaper

[Gandoor]

Opposition Parties Announce Their Candidates for Upcoming Election

The candidates nominated from the current opposition parties, from L to R:
Park Sang-Hee of the Gandoor Communist Party
Steven Jones of the People's Party of Gandoor
Heidi Cameron of the Gandoor Freedom Group

Gandoor City - The three opposition parties in the Forum have formally announced their candidates for the office of Prime Minister in the upcoming National and Forum Election in Gandoor, which is scheduled to occur on Saturday, 6 July 2024. As is traditional, all three parties have nominated their current party leader as their candidate and they will be challenging the current government led by Prime Minister Nikolai Olanovich Semenov of the New Democratic Party.

The candidates selected by the parties are as follows:

• Park Sang-Hee - Park Sang-Hee is the current leader of the Gandoor Communist Party since 2022 and a Member of the Forum since 2016. Park is the first Korean leader of the Communist Party and, if her party wins the majority of seats, will become the first Korean Prime Minister of Gandoor. A democratic socialist, Park supports the complete renationalisation of certain companies which were either partially or completely privatised during the 1980s and 1990s, most notably AirGandoor (which currently remains under 65% state-ownership) and Genki Electronics (which currently remains under 20% state-ownership). She also supports the adjustment of term limits for Members of the Forum and was one of the supporters of the Term Limits Amendment Proposal, which, depending upon the results of the upcoming vote regarding the proposed amendment in the Forum scheduled to occur this coming Wednesday, may go to a vote in a public referendum alongside the upcoming elections.
• Steven Jones - Steven Jones is the current leader of the People's Party of Gandoor since 2019 and a Member of the Forum since 2020. Jones is an ardent supporter of laissez-faire economics and, in his own words, 'getting the government out of people's lives'. He has stated that if his party somehow manages to win the majority of seats, he will work towards the privatisation of most current state-owned enterprises, specifically calling out the Gandoor National Mail Service, Gandoor Railways, Gandoor Bus Services, and the Gandoor Internet Service Corporation as entities to be privatised (Jones is also a harsh critic of the legal monopoly the Gandoor Internet Service Corporation has on internet access in the Democratic Republic). He also supports the reintroduction of private health insurance to Gandoor and the making of funding of the Gandoor National Health Insurance an opt-in scheme, stating that 'The people of Gandoor have the right to choose to not participate in the funding of a socialist healthcare system if they do not desire'
• Heidi Cameron - Heidi Cameron is the current leader of the Gandoor Freedom Group since 2018 and a Member of the Forum since 2016. A social conservative, Cameron supports leading Gandoorese society on a rightward shift. Similar to Jones, she supports the privatisation of various state-owned enterprises, although much like the party she leads, she does not support any form of privatisation regarding healthcare in Gandoor. While stating that she remains committed to Gandoorese neutrality and focus on self-defence, she believes in that the military size must be increased to at least 300,000 active troops, citing concerns that the current military size (as of this writing, about 140,000 active troops and 327,000 reserve troops) is too small to properly defend a nation as large as Gandoor. Cameron is also a supporter of the restriction of voting rights for convicted felons, having been on record of stating that 'I believe that those convicted of a felony should be permanently barred from voting. It is not right that one who was willing to break the law should be allowed to vote for those who will create the law.'

As the Prime Minister is not directly elected by the citizens but rather determined by whichever party ends up with the majority of seats following the election, all three candidates (as well as the incumbent Prime Minister, Nikolai Olanovich Semenov) are focusing on encouraging citizens to vote for the candidates from their party in their electoral district. While either the New Democratic Party or the Gandoor Communist Party have a high chance of ending up the majority of seats (the New Democratic Party currently has 488 seats and the Gandoor Communist Party currently has 485 seats), both the People's Party of Gandoor and the Gandoor Freedom Group will face an incredible challenge, some of which might deem impossible, in order to gain the majority of seats in the Forum (the People's Party of Gandoor currently has 18 seats and the Gandoor Freedom Group currently has 9 seats).

The upcoming Gandoorese National and Forum Election will be occurring on Saturday, 6 July 2024 and The Gandoor Times will be there on election day as your source for news and updates.

[Gandoor]

Term Limits Amendment Proposal Passes Forum, Set to Go to Public Referendum

The Forum voted to pass the Term Limits Amendment Proposal by a rate of 706 votes in favour and 294 votes against

Gandoor City - In a surprising result, even to the supporters of the proposal, the Term Limits Amendment Proposal, which proposes altering the term limits for Members of the Forum from three terms of four years to four consecutive terms of four years, with managed to pass a vote in the Forum with 706 votes in favour of the amendment and 294 votes against, just managing to overcome the 70% majority vote required for a proposed amendment to pass the Forum. While this does not mean that the proposed amendment will be added to the Constitution, as it still needs to pass a public referendum, it is one more step towards the Term Limits Amendment Proposal becoming the fifth amendment to the Gandoorese Constitution.

The vote, which was originally scheduled for Wednesday 12 June 2024 but had to be rescheduled until today, Monday 17 June 2024, following the one week suspension of twelve Members of the Forum for conduct unbecoming a politician which occurred on Monday 10 June 2024 (as a note for any of our foreign readers - any Member of the Forum can be suspended due to improper parliamentary conduct by the Head of the Forum for up to one month and while normal votes count the suspended Members as an abstention, votes for constitutional amendments require all 1000 Members of the Forum to be present and voting), occurred at 13:45 this afternoon and was rather mixed in terms of support from each political party, as to be expected from a vote which requires a 70% majority in order to pass.

In terms of results by party, the vote went as follows:

• New Democratic Party
  Votes in Favour: 338
  Votes Against: 150
• Gandoor Communist Party
  Votes in Favour: 351
  Votes Against: 134
• People's Party of Gandoor
  Votes in Favour: 9
  Votes Against: 19
• Gandoor Freedom Group
  Votes in Favour: 2
  Votes Against: 7

Contrary to earlier reports that the public referendum would go to a vote alongside the upcoming National and Forum Election on 6 July, the Government has announced that the public referendum for the Term Limits Amendment Proposal will occur on 30 July 2024, with absentee/vote by mail ballots due to be sent out by this Saturday. When the proposed amendment goes to a public referendum, it will require a 70% vote in favour to pass, the same as is required to pass the Forum.

[Gandoor]

Communist Party Wins Elections, Park Sang-Hee to become Prime Minister

The Gandoor Communist Party, led by Park Sang-Hee (above), has won the majority of seats in the Forum

Gandoor City - Earlier today, the National Electoral Commission confirmed and announced the results for the 2024 National and Forum Election and has declared that the Gandoor Communist Party will have the majority of seats in the Forum when the 41st Forum assembles for the first time this coming October and Communist Party Leader Park Sang-Hee will become the 13th Prime Minister of Gandoor.

Per the results announced by the National Electoral Commission, the seating makeup for the 41st Forum will be as follows:
Gandoor Communist Party - 487 seats
New Democratic Party - 481 seats
People's Party of Gandoor - 21 seats
Gandoor Freedom Group - 11 seats

In a statement sent from her office, Mrs. Park had this to say:
'I thank each and every one of my supporters from the bottom of my heart. What this election has shown is that the Gandoorese people are supporters of economic equality and a better future for all citizens - which is what the Communist Party promises to work towards. I look forward to not only working with my own party once I assume the office, but also with the Opposition as I understand we cannot forge our path forward alone. Again, I thank everyone who voted for the Communist Party in these elections.'

Incumbent Prime Minister Nikolai Olanovich Semenov offered his congratulations to Mrs. Park as well:
'I do congratulate Mrs. Park and her party for their victory in these past elections. While I am not a member of her party, obviously, I can safely say that both my party and hers desire to improve the lives of the common citizen and I can say with confidence that Gandoor will be in safe hands under her government. I do wish her well.'

At this time, neither Steven Jones of the People's Party or Heidi Cameron of the Gandoor Freedom Group have issued any statements regarding the election results.

[Gandoor]

Term Limits Amendment Passes Public Referendum, To Become Part of the Constitution

An image of the ballot used for the Term Limits Amendment Proposal referendum

Gandoor City - The National Electoral Commission has announced the results of the Term Limits Amendment Proposal referendum which occurred yesterday, Saturday 10 August 2024, and have confirmed that the referendum managed to pass the 70% threshold and will become the fifth amendment to the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Gandoor effective some time on Monday, 12 August 2024, when Prime Minister Semenov signs the amendment and it officially becomes part of the Constitution.

The referendum, which was originally scheduled for 30 July, was delayed until 10 August due to significant delays in the delivery of absentee ballots officially occurred from 6.00 AM until 11.00 PM local time. While mail-in ballots are still being accepted so long as they were postmarked by 10 August, the NEC has stated that 'it is highly unlikely that they will alter the results of the referendum in any significant way, due to the results as determined by the already tallied ballots, and they will only be used to determine the final voting tally.'

The results of the referendum, as reported by the NEC is as follows:
The amendment should become part of the constitution: 85,304,202 (73.5%)
The amendment should not become part of the constitution: 30,651,482 (26.4%)
Invalid or blank votes: 104,454 (0.08%)
Total Votes: 116,060,138 (100%)
Turnout: 116,060,138 votes from a total registered voter amount of 165,327,836, 70.19% turnout

[Gandoor]

41st Forum Takes Seats; Park Sang-Hee Appointed Prime Minister

Park Sang-Hee has been appointed the 13th Prime Minister of Gandoor

Gandoor City - Earlier today the current Forum of the Democratic Republic of Gandoor, the 41st since 1904, took their seats for the first time. Following roll-call, the Forum proceeded to begin with their first act of the day: the appointment of Park Sang-Hee to the Office of Prime Minister.

Following this and a few other minor acts, such as selecting new members for the Preliminary Voting Committee, the new Forum's tradition of letting Members mingle amongst themselves, allowing new Members to introduce themselves to old Members and vice-versa occur. A tradition which, some have described as 'more suited for a new school year than a new legislature', however most Members of the Forum are supportive of the tradition, feeling 'if they have to work with these people for several years, we should be able to get know each other in a slightly non-formal context', to quote the late Harold Benson II, who served in the Forum from 1972 until 1980.

As for Park Sang-Hee herself, she has confirmed that she will be submitting her nominees for her cabinet to the Forum 'within the coming days' and will nominate a replacement for Beatrice Rogers, who has been serving as Head of the Forum since 15 November 2018, within the coming weeks. Rumours have indicated that she intends to nominate Nikolai Petrov, President of the Gandoor Communist Party, and Member of the Forum since 2012 to the office, however this has not been confirmed by any parties involved.

Previous Prime Minister, Nikolai Olanovich Semenov, while temporarily serving as Leader of the Opposition by virtue of still being Leader of the New Democratic Party (despite not holding any official political office), announced that he will be resigning as Leader of the New Democratic Party on 15 October, with leadership elections for the party set to occur that same day. He also wished good luck for Mrs. Park and the rest of the 41st Forum and hoped that they would 'continue to progress Gandoor on the right path towards prosperity and equality'.

[Gandoor]

Banknote Redesigns Revealed, Most To Receive New Colour Schemes

A comparison of the old (left) and new (right) designs for the twenty gdyn banknote.

Gandoor City - The National Bank of Gandoor has revealed their redesigns for the eight banknotes of the gdyn, which are due to begin official circulation later this year. These redesigns came about due to concerns regarding the security features of the current designs, as well as complaints from citizens that the current designs were 'uninteresting' due to all being identical bar their colour schemes, the person depicted upon them, and the bar containing the serial number and name of the person depicted.

The new redesigns are said by the National Bank to fix both of these issues, having more advanced security features and unique design elements for each banknote, at least for the obverse of the new designs, as the National Mint has confirmed that the reverse of the new designs will remain identical to one another, barring colour schemes, some security elements, and their denominations.

As part of these redesigns, all banknotes bar the five gdyn banknote will also be receiving new colour schemes, the first change in colour for Gandoorese banknotes since individually coloured banknotes were introduced in the 1920s. A table listing the old and new colour schemes follows, with the five gdyn banknote included for completion, has been included at the end of this article.

In addition to the new colour schemes, other differences between the current designs and the redesigns include the following:

• The currency denomination on the obverse is now printed in both Arabic and Japanese numerals, with the Arabic numerals being at the bottom right and the Japanese numerals being at the top left
• The notice that each banknote is legal tender is now printed on the obverse, rather than the reverse
• The primary portrait has been moved to the left side of the note, with a smaller, partially transparent portrait on the right side
• The notice that counterfeiting a banknote is a criminal offense on the reverse of each banknote has been removed (the National Bank has, slightly tongue in cheek, confirmed that this change does not mean that counterfeiting Gandoorese banknotes is now legal)
• The serial number of the banknote (featuring a new, all numerical, system) is printed below the words 「ガンドア国立銀行」 (Gandoor National Bank) on the reverse
• An image of the Forum is now depicted on the reverse

Despite these changes, two design elements from the current banknotes remain on the redesign:

• The triple flowers on left side of the obverse remain, however they are now partially obscured due to the new position of the portraits
• The swirl pattern on the reverse remains, albeit as part of the background and not the primary design element

The National Bank has not yet confirmed a date for when the redesigned banknotes are to enter circulation, although they have confirmed that they 'are aiming for these notes to enter general circulation by August of this year, with the current designs to be gradually withdrawn following their release'.

Comparison of the Old and New Colour Schemes for Gandoorese Banknotes

Denomination	Old Colour	New Colour
5 GDY	Green	Green
10 GDY	Pink	Red
20 GDY	Blue	Purple
30 GDY	Yellow	Cyan
50 GDY	Red	Yellow
100 GDY	Dark Green	Pink
200 GDY	Purple	Blue
300 GDY	Light Green	Dark Green

[Gandoor]

Controversy Erupts Over New Educational Standards, Critics Claim 'Indoctrinates' Children

Minister of Education Susan P. Jenson claims the controversial educational standard
comes direct from Prime Minister Park Sang-Hee

Gandoor City - This morning, the Ministry of Education published its Educational Standards for the 2027 - 2028 School Year which contains the minimum educational standards that all schools within Gandoor are expected to follow and meet during the next school year, which is due to begin in March 2027. While normally the annual release of the Educational Standards is not a newsworthy item, members of the public have discovered and publicized something in the new standards that they consider to be 'shocking' and 'alarming'.

That 'something' being the following part of the new educational standards:
Students must become educated and accepting of the eventual socialization of the Gandoorese economy and the positive changes this will have on Gandoorese society.

After being publicized and confirmed by the Ministry of Education, a massive controversy has broken out over the new standards, with both members of the public and politicians criticizing the Ministry of Education for 'overstepping its boundaries'. Member of the Forum Jean Washio (New Democratic Party, Osaka Yon) has issued the following statement, 'It is completely unacceptable for the Ministry of Education to attempt to politically indoctrinate our nation's children. I know saying "politically indoctrinate" is strong, but that is what this is. This is not just attempting to educate children about our nation's political system and history, this is attempting to condition them to accept and support a drastic and fundamental change in our country. I strongly urge the Ministry of Education to withdraw its Educational Standards for the 2027 - 2028 School Year and remove the controversial section.'

In response to the criticisms, Minister of Education Susan P. Jenson has said that she will not be having the Ministry of Education withdraw or alter the new educational standards and further claims that the controversial educational standard was added by the direct order of Prime Minister Park Sang-Hee, who sent Jenson an official letter containing the standard with orders to 'entrench it into our educational system'.

Prime Minister Park has categorically denied the claims that she has anything to do with the controversial standard, with her office issuing the following statement, 'The claims by Ms Jenson that Prime Minister Park had any input in the 2027 - 2028 Educational Standards are complete falsehoods. The Prime Minister believes strongly in an independent educational system that encourages and helps children develop critical thinking skills and their own opinions and views and has never had any interest in interfering with the Ministry of Education's operations. If Ms Jenson has this alleged letter that the Prime Minister sent to her, then we encourage her to publicly release it.'

[Gandoor]

Minister of Education Releases Alleged Letter; A 'Blatant Forgery' says PM's Office

The letter that Minister of Education Susan P. Jenson claims that
Prime Minister Park Sang-Hee sent to her with the controversial addition to
the Educational Standards for the 2027 - 2028 School Year
(Click the image to view it in a larger size)

Gandoor City - After several days, Minister of Education Susan P. Jenson has released the letter in which she claims that Prime Minister Park Sang-Hee directly ordered the addition of the controversial educational standard that critics say serves to politically indoctrinate Gandoorese children. Ms Jenson has said that she hopes the release of this letter will satisfy the critics and that they will cease their unjust attacks on the Ministry of Education at once.

In response to the letter, Prime Minister Park Sang-Hee's office has dismissed it as being a 'blatant forgery' and issued the following statement in response to its release:
'The letter that has been released by Ms Jenson that she says was sent to her by Prime Minister Park contains several errors and inaccuracies marking it as an obvious and blatant forgery and not a legitimate letter that was sent by the Prime Minister to Ms Jenson.

The following errors in the letter should be noted:

• The letter lacks the official header used by legitimate letters sent by the Prime Minister
• In the letter, the Prime Minister is referred to as 'Prime Minister of this Democratic Republic' and 'Prime Minister of Gandoor', as opposed to the official stylings of 'Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Gandoor' or 'Prime Minister' used by the Prime Minister
• The Prime Minister's name lacks the hyphen in her given name, it is supposed to be written 'Sang-Hee' not 'Sang Hee'
• The Prime Minister does not close her letters with 'Prime Minister Park Sang Hee', letters written by the Prime Minister are closed with 'Park Sang-Hee, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Gandoor', which is the official styling used in all letters written by Prime Ministers throughout our nation's history.

We find it utterly shameful that anyone who is part of the Government of Gandoor would produce and expect the Gandoorese people to believe such an obviously faked letter and we strongly encourage Ms Jenson to cease whatever it is she is attempting to do, apologize, and withdraw the educational standard that has caused this entire mess.'

In a survey conducted by The Gandoor Times yesterday, we asked 1500 Gandoorese citizens the following question regarding this controversy:
'Do you believe that Prime Minister Park Sang-Hee has anything to do with the new educational standards?'
The results of the survey are as follows:

• Yes - 15.7%
• No - 38.6%
• Not Sure - 45.7%